


Warriors AU Dump

by TheSkyclanCat



Series: AU Dump [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Anything I only want to semi-write goes here, Body Modification if you could call it that, Deviations from Ignite, Elementals, Evolving tags as I put in more characters and pairings, Gen, Gods and Goddesses, I hope I don't post anything too weird in here, I'm Bad At Titles, I'm Sorry, I'm still obsessed with transformation, Kitsunes, Mentions of blood and gore?, Mercats, Multi, Now with Halloween Chapter!, Now with the obligatory Time Travel chapter, Possession, Reincarnation, Whether I continue anything in here remains to be seen, au dump, mythical creatures, nagas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:59:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 35,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSkyclanCat/pseuds/TheSkyclanCat
Summary: Anything from different AUs I don't want to write all the way, or even alternate pieces of my other fics I want to write go here!Let's fill up this collection with ideas!
Relationships: Brambleclaw & Firestar (Warriors), Firestar/Sandstorm (Warriors)
Series: AU Dump [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858687
Comments: 139
Kudos: 76





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a giant authors note. oops

Welcome to my AU Dump!

I reserved the first chapter so that I can explain stuff and not waste the end author's note. Everyone on A03 knows what I'm talking about. The last authors note of the first chapter shows up in subsequent chapters and it's super annoying cause I don't want it there...

This is where I'll be posting any ideas I have that I feel are too short to have their own fic. So really, Two Halves make One Whole should have gone into here as well. But I'm lazy. 

If anyone has ideas to give me, let me know! No guarantee I'll write them, but if they interest me enough maybe... 

This is going to have a sporadic update- I'll only write something if I feel like it. I still need to figure out where I'm taking Ignite... and I should probably begin to wrap up H20 as well but again, I'm lazy. 

(Let's be honest, most of these are probably going to center around Firestar in a way -_-'' I can't help it he's my favorite boi to mess around with. He has the most possibilities out of any of the cats.)

Now stop reading this and go onto the next chapter already.


	2. The Serpent's Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Messing around with an ancient artifact is never a good idea... Especially when it's got a curse attached to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the AU Dump!
> 
> I've had this idea in my head for a bit, and I wanted it out. It didn't go exactly as I thought it would, but that's because I only had a general idea of what would happen and didn't focus on the finer details. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Brambleclaw hesitated outside the leader cabin, one hand clenched into a fist by his side, the other hand hovering over the door, wanting to knock but too scared to do so.

' _This is all my fault...'_

He had been so stupid, trying to stop his more rambunctious clanmates from playing around with an ancient artifact. Something that had been unearthed days ago, a beautiful golden snake armlet with rubies for eyes. Putting it on looked like the snake was coiling up one's arm.

Even though it was beautiful, it came with a price. It was cursed, and he had managed to activate it, trying to pry it away from his clanmates. It wasn't something anyone should have been playing with. A red mist came out of the armlet and a red, misty snake arose, hissing at them that they had brought misfortune upon themselves. Woe to the fool who activated and took on the Serpent's Curse. Those who took on the curse with ill intent were subject to bad luck and misery for the rest of their lives.

Those without ill intent, those with pure, true hearts would be gifted with something more. They would be bestowed with a new existence. In this case, the Serpent's Gift.

It had taken one look at Brambleclaw, the one who had been holding the armlet, and sent out a red beam of light towards him, before disappearing back into the armlet. He had stood there in shock and fear as the light inched closer. It was like he had been watching and acting in painfully slow motion. He should have taken the curse...

But then Firestar had pushed him out of the way and taken it for him.

' _I should have taken the curse, I was the one holding it, not Firestar._ '

He admitted that Firestar had a bad habit of playing the hero. Brambleclaw couldn't blame him for it though, helping people was just in his nature. In this case, he saw his deputy and his once-son-in-law and tried to save him.

He mustered up his courage and finally knocked on the door. “Firestar, can... can I come in?” he asked hesitantly.

“...Come in.”

Well, he didn't sound angry with him, but he didn't sound all that happy either. He turned the door knob and opened the door, stepping inside and closing the door as he entered, his head down.

“Brambleclaw?”

He trembled, tears in his eyes, though Firestar couldn't see his tears as his head was bowed down.

“I'm sorry!” he sobbed.

“What do you have to be sorry for? You've done nothing wrong.”

“It's just- no one should have been playing around with that thing and I tried getting it away from them and activated the curse! It's because of me that you're like this!” he wailed.

“If you hadn't gotten it away from them, they would have found a way to activate the curse anyway. Our clanmates are foolish yes, but at least you saved them from a terrible fate.”

“At the cost of your body!”

“I mean... this is less than ideal, but at least no one was hurt or cursed. Could you look up at me please?”

Brambleclaw lifted his head up to gaze upon Firestar's new form. The most obvious thing about him was the lack of legs. His legs had merged together to form a long, serpentine tail with red, orange, and yellow scales, almost like blazing fire. His torso was bare, his leader cloak being the only thing he was wearing upon his shoulders. There were scales all over his chest and some on his stomach, and he could see scales forming intricate markings on his arms. His face flushed at the cloak not doing much to hide his toned physique. There were scales lining his face, his green eyes having turned to snake-like slits.

He wore the armlet on his right arm, deeming it too dangerous to allow anyone else near it. He had already taken the Serpent's Gift, so it would be fine with him. The ruby eyes stared out at Brambleclaw mockingly.

' _See this? He's like this because of you._ ' He wasn't sure if it was the armlet speaking to him or if it was his own subconscious.

His body wasn't the only thing to change, he had also gotten physically younger. His hair was a vibrant ginger, the gray snaking up his hair having disappeared when he took on the gift. There wasn't a single blemish from old age, besides the scars he earned from battle.

There was an air of youth around him and it only added to his beauty. But Brambleclaw still blamed himself for Firestar's situation.

Firestar's face softened at the tears hanging onto his eyelids, Brambleclaw stubbornly trying to make sure they didn't fall.

“You really blame yourself for this huh?” He slithered up to Brambleclaw and coiled around him, squeezing him tightly. Brambleclaw gave a startled gasp, wondering what Firestar was doing. Firestar cupped his hand over Brambleclaw's chin and tilted his head up.

His green eyes lit up hypnotically, and Brambleclaw couldn't stop staring into them. Firestar smiled as he felt Brambleclaw relax his body within his tail.

“I know this whole thing seems weird. But it wasn't your fault. There's no need to blame yourself for what happened okay? We'll figure this out together, does that sound good?” His voice was like sweet, smooth honey, every word sinking into Brambleclaw's head, and he gave a slow nod.

He slithered over to his bed, Brambleclaw still within his tail and settled themselves down on its comfy surface.

“Sleep.”

As he uttered the word, Brambleclaw's eyes closed and his breathing evened out as he drifted off at Firestar's command. Firestar gently ran his fingers through Brambleclaw's hair, while simultaneously looking out the window into the camp below. Even since he changed, he never felt like mingling with his clanmates. He didn't feel as though he belonged anymore. But he could clearly see from Brambleclaw's posture and expression that he was okay with his new body; he was just upset that Firestar had taken the gift/curse for him. Sandstorm had given him that impression too...

Not to mention the two warrior's faces flushed when they had seen him. Perhaps the rest of the clan would be fine with how he was as well. Everything would be fine as long as his clan accepted him for what he was now.

The only problem was the other clans. How would they react to him?

He gave a hum as he continued petting Brambleclaw. Who cares about the other clans think? He had all he needed right here, in this camp~

Who knows, he might actually start to enjoy his new naga-like form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human!Warriors with naga and lamia transformations sprinkled in? 
> 
> I'd read it. Not sure about everyone else though. 
> 
> Brambleclaw being Firestar's former son-in-law? He and Squirrelflight are divorced in this universe, with the whole Leafpool had kits with Crowfeather thing and weren't Brambleclaws? He was pretty mad at Squirrelflight enough to divorce her. Of course they'll remarry after they make up and all that. 
> 
> Where'd the snake armlet come from? Dunno, I haven't gotten that far. I just wanted to write it. 
> 
> Speaking of, if anyone wants to take these ideas and run with them, feel free to do so. Just ask for permission first. 
> 
> As always, if anyone has questions, leave a comment/review please and I'll get back to you with an answer!
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	3. Elementals, Elementals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A crazy she-cat comes forth looking for the Elementals of this world. Can Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight stop her before she turns the leaders and herself into Elementals and rule the world? 
> 
> Probably not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got inspired again. I'm not sure if I wrote this one down exactly as I wanted it, but I clearly had way too much fun with this one if I exceeded at least 2000 words. 
> 
> Originally I wanted Leafstar as part of this as well, but uh.. I dunno what element I would have given her. I thought about giving Firestar and Blackstar Light and Dark respectively, but then I was like, nah just give them the standard Water, Wind, Earth, Fire thing. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Brambleclaw gave a snarl of frustration, Squirrelflight nearby sniffing at the air and ground. He knew he shouldn't be getting this worked up; doing so was only going to make his search for Firestar a lot harder and slower.

Squirrelflight finally perked her head up. “I think I got their scents!”

He hurried over to her. “Well, don't just stand there, hurry up and lead the way!”

“Shouldn't we alert the others about the scent trail?”

“There's no time!” He gave a hiss of impatience. “Who knows what Glace will do to him if we waste our time trying to gather a patrol up?” She lashed her tail, unhappy with his decision, but understanding nonetheless, and began racing up the scent trail, where they would hopefully find their missing leader.

The last moon had been nothing but weird. A strange icy-white she cat had appeared at their border, asking for their help. She had been taken to camp, where she introduced herself as Glace. She had in her terms, been seeking the “Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind dudes- you know where to find them?”- and the entire clan had been perplexed at her request.

The only cat who remotely fit her description was Firestar, but that was only because his name held the word 'Fire' in it. Otherwise, they had no idea what she was talking about.

She got weirder, telling them that the four she was looking for were the Elementals of this world, the ones destined to use their powers to bring balance to the world, a world where they would rule all.

She described everything about the Elementals while showing off her powers of Ice, forming stalactites and pillars that she bounded off of as she explained. Then she suddenly was up in Firestar's face telling him that he was one of them, asking him to join her in order to achieve ascension. Without all five Elementals, none of them could ascend.

She had been promptly thrown out, remembering the last time a sketchy rogue had come to the clans with such odd information. As she was escorted off the border, she had looked back at them all, a smirk on her face.

“You'll all see eventually! You'll all see!” she laughed.

They had blown her off as a crazy she-cat and life returned to normal. Until Firestar had swished his tail one day and it lit up in flames. Since then, his powers of fire had slowly grown to the point where he could control fire as easily as breathing.

They had kept his powers as a clan secret until Glace had crashed the Gathering, grinning up at all four leaders, who all bristled at her appearance.

Glace had been busy, running around to all four clans in search of the four Elementals, and she had found them all. She once again asked all four leaders to join her, only for them to refuse vehemently.

Since she was chased away from the Gathering, she had been doing whatever it took to get the four leaders at her side.

Brambleclaw scowled. What a rogue of a she-cat. She was persistent, he would give her that. All that persistence finally paid off, because she finally managed to take Firestar against his will.

Squirrelflight suddenly slowed down, signaling him to do the same. They were at the edge of Thunderclan territory, in between the Thunderclan and Shadowclan border.

“Why did you stop?” he hissed.

She shushed him. “Can't you hear that?” He frowned and pricked his ears. There was humming a little ways in front of them, a distinct thrumming in the air. His eyes narrowed and he slunk up and crouched down into the bushes, Squirrelflight by his side. His eyes widened; there was Glace, drawing a circle that was divided up into five areas, adding intricate markings into the ground, humming happily.

Firestar, Blackstar, Mistystar, and Onestar were also there, each one standing in one of the five spots, a blank look in their eyes. They were staring up at little pieces of ice that dangled in front of their eyes, casting a hypnotic light onto them.

“Ha ha! Just a little more and then, we'll be working together to make this world _better_. Maybe we could start with getting rid of those nasty Twolegs first- whatever we need to do to cement our place in this world; I don't care! We'll have all the time in the world to decide!” Glace chortled. “If only you four had just agreed to this, maybe I wouldn't have had to control you guys into doing this with me. Oh well, I'm sure you'll all love the power you're all about to get anyways.”

She hopped into the last space and cackled menacingly. “Elementals, here we come!”

Brambleclaw gave an enraged growl, and shot out of the bushes, much to Squirrelflight's dismay. “Not a chance Glace!” Squirrelflight followed him out. “Brambleclaw, no! You don't know what she could do!” she whispered fiercely into his ear.

Glace gave a startled gasp. “How did you find us?!”

“Followed your scent trails; you're pretty bad at hiding it,” he said smugly. She gave a growl and waved her tail at the four leaders.

“Blast them!” The leaders turned to face Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight with their blank stares. A ball of fire formed in Firestar's paws, while a ball of water and and a ball of wind formed in Mistystar's and Onestar's. The three threw them at the two cats, who were forced to dodge to the side. Brambleclaw recovered his balance and was able to shoot forward at Glace when Blackstar made paw motions and various roots arose from the ground, bounding him and Squirrelflight tight.

No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't move. Glace snorted and the four leaders turned back to face her. “Now, where were we? Ah yes...” she snorted. The circle beneath her lit up, the light spreading out to the rest of the circle. The light kept getting brighter and brighter, and eventually the two Thunderclan warriors were forced to close their eyes, lest they get blinded. They could hear Glace's laughter in the distance.

“Finally-!” The ground rumbled and a beam of light exploded from the circle, ascending into the sky. It quickly broke apart and the rumbling stopped soon after. Brambleclaw, feeling the light fade from behind his eyelids, cracked his eyes open. They quickly flew open at the sight of the five cats in front of them, if they could be called cats at all. They all held a distinct cat shape, but held no visible features besides their ears, tails, body shapes, and the glowing white areas on their faces that were trying to emulate eyes.

Blackstar was nothing but a large overgrown plant, wood and foliage growing all over his body. Small plants sprung up where he was standing. Mistystar had turned into pure water, her surface rippling, and Brambleclaw could see bubbles rising within her body. Onestar was made of out dense, visible, swirling winds, his 'paws' hovering off the ground.

Glace herself had turned to pure ice, her crystalline surface gleaming in the light. There was ice forming under her where she stood.

But Brambleclaw's attention was on Firestar, and he could feel a distinctive sinking feeling forming in his stomach. Firestar was nothing more than a body of fire now, the flames waving wildly and embers dancing around his frame. The ground underneath him was scorched black.

Gazing upon the leaders' new forms was a reminder that he had failed to save them, to save Firestar.

Glace snickered from where she stood. “Now, shall we change this world together my friends?” Their heads snapped to where she was, the whites that replaced their eyes narrowing down.

“ _Together?_ Yeah right,” Blackstar laughed harshly. “I don't need any of you; Earth will rule this world alone!” he declared.

Glace gasped and turned to stare at him, though there wasn't a visible emotion Brambleclaw could decipher. “How dare you! We're supposed to balance this world together!” she snarled.

“No he's right. I don't need you all to interfere in my conquest! Wind stands alone!” Onestar roared.

“Please, we all know this world will return to Water in the end,” Mistystar spat.

Firestar said nothing, only standing there, studying his fellow Elementals. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight could only stare as well; this wasn't the balance that Glace had preached, not at all!

“You fools! You let yourselves be consumed by your elements!” Glace screeched at them. The other three leaders gave harsh laughs.

“I know, and it feels so good! Why did I ever try to reject this?” Blackstar snorted. He gazed upon the other Elementals. “Soon, you'll all be buried under Earth,” he said as he sank into the ground and disappeared. Onestar dissipated into the air and Mistystar fell down onto the ground with a splash, snaking her way across the ground in order to find a nearby body of water.

Glace snarled and a whirlwind of snow formed around her as she broke apart and turned into a cloud of snow that swiftly drifted off.

Firestar was the only one left in the clearing. He turned around and slowly stalked up to Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, the two looking at him fearfully. His gaze softened as he gazed upon them, and he slowly burned the roots binding them, setting them free. The two stumbled backwards, afraid of the Fire Elemental in front of them.

“Now, now, that's no way to act in front of your leader.” He circled around them, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. They had been freed from a trap and imprisoned into a different one instead.

“They're all so short sighted. We can't rule this world like this,” he sighed. The two cats gave a sigh of relief; Firestar was seemingly normal, not aiming to take over the world like the others had declared.

“We can't rule this world... not alone anyway. I'll be needing some help from you all,” he said to Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight.

“Father, please, let's just return to camp and figure this out! No one needs to rule anything!” Squirrelflight mewed softly, trying to placate her father.

“Oh, we'll be returning to camp alright. But first, I need you two to be ready to help me.” He laughed lightly as he placed a paw of fire onto Squirrelflight, who flinched but otherwise wasn't getting burned.

“Receive my power, and serve your deity.” She gave a gasp and Brambleclaw stumbled backwards as her body was engulfed in flames. Unlike Firestar, he could still see Squirrelflight's fur under all the fire, but she still laughed joyfully as she nuzzled her father. He stared at them bemused; what was going on?  
  


“What did you do to her?” he snarled.

“She is a herald of Fire now, one of my children. Just like you will be next.” Firestar walked forth and Brambleclaw began stepping backwards, until he was right up to the wall of fire and could go no further. He was trapped.

“It's really not that bad Brambleclaw! Just let him change you!” Squirrelflight urged him. His legs trembled as Firestar edged closer. Firestar placed his head onto Brambleclaw's, purring. “Don't be afraid, let the Fire take over. Be like us...receive my power, and serve your deity Brambleclaw.”

There was no stopping the fire as it engulfed his being. It didn't hurt, it felt really warm actually. He could feel his mind open up, connecting with Firestar's, and he couldn't help but laugh at the warmth wrapping around him. He felt good. Firestar sighed as he connected with his next herald, the hive mind beginning to take form. It would be better if he could share all this warmth with the rest of his clan.

“Come, we have a clan to convert.” Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight nodded happily, leading the way for their god to follow. His body collapsed into pure fire and snaked off behind the two fire-cats.

' _Soon this world will be engulfed in Fire_.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got inspired by Adventure Time, obviously. "Elemental, elemental, stand do not sit." Patience St. Pim was such a fun character and the part where she turned herself and the other princesses into elementals really stuck out to me in my memories. 
> 
> (Candy and Slime are such dumbs elements, like Fire and Ice I can understand but the other two? :P bleh) 
> 
> So basically this is a race to see which Elemental can take over the world first. And by take over, I mean convert. It's anyone's guess really. 
> 
> Glace really should haven't mind controlled the leaders; there was no way to fight their elements consuming them and their minds because of it. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	4. Flames of Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every leader gains the ability to turn into a fantastical creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so Londonvetgirl25 asked for permission to make a Phoenix!Firestar fic and I read it and I suddenly wanted to do Phoenix!Firestar. Now I might be obsessed with it. 
> 
> So here's my version of Phoenix!Firestar. 
> 
> Everyone needs to go and read "From the Ashes to the Sky to the Thunder" by Londonvetgirl25-- cause it's what inspired me to write my own rendition of Firestar being a literal fire-bird. I was also inspired by Maleficent- Mistress of Evil. The scene where Maleficent-- you know, I won't give out spoils if anyone wants to see it. Basically, if you've watched the movie, you can probably guess what scene I'm talking about. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Firestar ran through the waves of fighting cats, eyes frantically scanning the battlefield for the one cat who could end it all. Until Scourge was dead, there would be no victory and no peace. It was strange that the final battle for the forest was with this small black cat instead of the evil tabby that haunted his nightmares.

But he couldn't find Scourge no matter what he did. He had to fight his way towards the base of the Great Rock, lashing out with teeth and claws, and he came face-to-face with some skinny, dog-toothed collar cats, their eyes glinting with hunger and hatred.

It was hard fighting the cats off when his body felt like it was burning from the inside out. He figured it had something to do with the Changes. All leaders went through them- the time when their bodies underwent a change to prepare themselves for the coming transformation. All leaders could turn into a certain creature, creatures that shouldn't exist, and yet did.

He could see Tallstar's black and white pelt in the fighting, his tail striking out at Bloodclan cats as they all fell down and wailed from the poison coursing through them. Tallstar was having an easy time with Bloodclan, with his body being bigger than the cats around him. The wings on Tallstar's back flared and knocked the cats away from him.

Leopardstar was a little ways away from him, batting away the rogues with her huge paws. She looked like a leopard, but her head was crowned with the horns of a deer and there were spines running down her back and into her long tail.

He thought that their new forms were amazing, and he couldn't wait to change as well. He remembered Bluestar being a beautiful wolf with two tails, her loyalty to her clan unquestioned. He was mesmerized at the sight of her transforming and for the first time wondered if he could be something more as well.

He also remembered Tigerstar, whose transformation had been ingrained into his head. The evil tabby had been laughing manically as his Changes had completed themselves at Firestar's first Gathering, his body growing bigger and scaly, extra heads sprouting from his neck and shoulders. Firestar had dreaded fighting such a creature- only for Scourge to finish Tigerstar off before he could focus enough on transforming.

He gave a frustrated hiss as he noticed the rest of the clans in bad shape. These rogues weren't going to stop until their leader either said so or died.

Firestar felt his fur begin to bristle as his gaze found Scourge at last. The small black cat was crouched at the base of the Great Rock, his claws slicing at the small tabby he had trapped there. Firestar's belly gave a fearful lurch as he recognized Bramblepaw, and he sped towards the two with a yowl of defiance.

Scourge whipped his head around and Bramblepaw gave him a look full of hope. Bramblepaw's shoulder was bleeding badly, and Firestar felt a burst of rage towards the small black cat for hurting his apprentice.

The BloodClan leader bared his teeth in a snarl. “Firestar!”

Without warning, he leaped. Firestar rolled with the impact and landed on top of the smaller cat, planting one paw on his neck. But before he could bite down, Scourge wriggled away with the speed of a snake. The dogs’ teeth on his claws flashed as he raked them across Firestar’s shoulder.

Excruciating pain lanced through Firestar’s body. He forced himself not to flinch but leaped forward again, sending Scourge flying back against the Great Rock. Briefly the black tom was stunned, and Firestar managed to bite down on his foreleg. Scourge recovered and used his dog-teeth claws to smack Firestar away from him.

Firestar stumbled and shook his head briefly and was about to launch himself at Scourge again when he saw Scourge was aiming his claws towards Bramblepaw, who gave him a hiss but was shaking in his paws.

Firestar's paws moved for him. All he could think about was saving the small tabby from this monster's claws.

Bramblepaw put up a valiant fight, but knew that this wasn't a battle he could win. Scourge brought his claws up, ready to give Bramblepaw the death blow, and Bramblepaw closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. He heard Scourge's claws go down, but he didn't feel anything. He opened his eyes only to see Firestar standing over him protectively, his throat cut open. Bramblepaw could only see the light in Firestar's eye die out, and he stood there horrified as Firestar's paws could no longer support him and he collapsed in a heap of fur in front of Bramblepaw.

Bramblepaw nosed Firestar in a futile attempt to get him to wake up. “Firestar? Firestar, please. Please wake up.” His leader and mentor had just sacrificed himself to keep him alive. He should have gotten away as soon as Firestar and Scourge had started fighting. Then he wouldn't have been such a distraction for Scourge to use against Firestar.

He sobbed, tears falling from his eyes onto Firestar's pelt. Scourge looked on with indifference, but not making a move to attack Bramblepaw. None of them noticed the tears give a golden glow before dissipating.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Firestar stared pleadingly at Bluestar; he needed to get back to his clan and help them win the battle! And Bramblepaw, poor Bramblepaw was probably distraught over seeing his mentor die right in front of him.

“Patience, Firestar. Your body needs a moment to recover. You will go back soon enough.”

“But it might not be in time! Bluestar, why are you letting this happen? Will StarClan not help us, even now?”

She didn't give him a direct answer, only useless platitudes. Firestar’s paws worked impatiently in the grass. What was the use of empty praise? He could not tear his mind away from what was happening in that other clearing, where loyal cats were fighting and dying.

Why wouldn't Starclan help them? Was the only thing they could do was give him a sense of faith and nothing more? He felt angry. He needed to help his clan and sticking around here wasn't helping him.

He gave a gasp as the burning feeling in his body flared, even worse than before. Let it be known that no one ever said that the Changes weren't painful. It would only be during mid-transformation would the pain go away.

Bluestar's eyes lit up in excitement. “Seems the Changes are completing itself.” He couldn't hear her as he felt heat and flames coming from outside his body and his world was engulfed in fire.

Bramblepaw stepped back as Firestar's body collapsed into golden ash, and then great flames rose up into the sky.

Firestar couldn't see anything other than fire, but he could feel his form change into something that wasn't a cat. There was a spike of great pain, before it melted away into a feeling of peace. He felt his body change, and he gave a fierce cry that echoed across Fourtrees.

Every cat stopped and looked up at the great bird of fire in all his majesty as he looked down at the terrified black cat in front of him. He gave his wings of flame a beat, before using them to swoop down on Scourge, using his new beak to cut the cat in half. He felt a great sense of satisfaction as he did so, finally ridding the forest of the Bloodclan leader.

Firestar saw the Bloodclan warriors falter in their confidence from above them all, and they all fled, screaming in terror. He gave a cry of victory, before carefully landing on the ground. He could finally get a good look at himself as the clan cats around him started either chasing the Bloodclan cats out or stood there admiring him.

He supposed this is what he would look like if he was a bird. Fiery feathers, wings of the same color, sharp talons and beak, and tail feathers that streamed out behind him in blazing fire. He was also... _big._ He towered over the cats, and even Tallstar and Leopardstar as they both changed back into their cat forms, staring up at him.

He felt movement by his talons and he looked down to see Bramblepaw looking up at him teary eyed. He lowered his head and touched Bramblepaw's nose with his beak, letting out a soft trill. Bramblepaw gave a sniffle and leaned into his touch, liking the warmth he was giving out.

He let his inner fire die down to something more manageable, and flames surrounded him as his body was compressed into that of a cat's. The flames dissolved, and Bramblepaw tackled him, sobbing out apologies as he buried himself into Firestar's chest fur.

“It's okay, I'm still here,” he purred into the apprentice's ear, trying to reassure him that Firestar wouldn't be dying again anytime soon.

He would just keep rising up from the ashes anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tallstar? He's a Manitcore. With a cat face mind you, not a human face. Powerful poison is kept within the scorpion tail. 
> 
> Leopardstar? She's a underwater panther. It's a thing, look it up on Wikipedia or something. They're sometimes helpful and protective but other times can be malevolent and bring death.
> 
> Bluestar? She's a wolf. With two tails. Nothing much to say here. She's like a bakeneko but a wolf instead.
> 
> Tigerstar? He's a hydra. Must be annoying having all those voices in his head telling him what to do. And worse, he can't tell them off since all those heads are him. 
> 
> And then there's Firestar who is obviously a phoenix. A pure hearted creature with tears that can heal almost anything, who turns into ashes and is reborn anew at the end of each life cycle. How this translates into nine lives, I have no idea. 
> 
> Please check out Londonvetgirl25's fic. You really won't be disappointed. 
> 
> Oh and I might have copied stuff from the Darkest Hour. Sorry about that Erins, but I'm trash at writing out fight scenes. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	5. Corruption and Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Forest tries to corrupt the cat everyone would least expect to betray them. It backfires horribly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was pretty disappointed with the lack of response over the weekend. So I decided to take a day off from writing Ignite. Annnddd I got carried away with this chapter. I don't usually write chapters that are 2000+ words, I really don't. I'm lucky to usually reach 1000. So when I go over the 2000+ point, I'm really getting carried away with the chapter at that point. 
> 
> Which is good, because it means I'm really getting into it. Writing something new after writing about the same thing everyday is pretty therapeutic and relaxing. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Tigerstar lashed his tail, sitting amongst the cats of the Dark Forest. He hated this place. It was always dark and murky, no stars in the sky to light the place up. The only light they had were the occasional mushrooms that only provided a dim glow. There was no prey here, no clean water to drink from. Plus it always smelled disgusting like a bog or swamp.

Not only that but he was stuck with the mouse-brains who couldn't hold a civilized conversation for a few heartbeats before everything devolved into a shouting match. He felt his powers of darkness and shadow rise up in him in agitation, and he wanted nothing more than to use them to at least knock some of these cats out so he could finally have some peace.

Blasting a Starclan cat would be nice too. He couldn't wait for the time of battle, where he would use the darkness to snuff out the light of those starry cowards.

His powers were the only good thing about being in the Dark Forest. Being apart of the Dark Forest connected them to all darkness and shadows, and being apart of Starclan made a cat connected to the stars and light itself. They could be used for a number of things, but his favorite was cultivating his own powers to physically manifest itself into being.

It made him the most dangerous cat in the Dark Forest and it was why he was the leader. Bearing that in mind...

He let his darkness rise up and cover his body in a aura of black, before shooting a wave around him that flew over everyone's heads. They shut up quickly.

He forced the aura back down. “How about we talk like rational beings instead of shouting to the point where no one can hear, yes?” he purred. It wasn't a suggestion; it was an order. He gave a nod to Brokenstar. “We'll start off with you.”

Brokenstar nodded, inwardly envious at Tigerstar's abilities. His abilities over shadow were nowhere near Tigerstar's level and he couldn't get there no matter how hard he tried to train himself to do the things Tigerstar could do.

“We need a way to secure the loyalty of the living trainees,” he began.

“Don't we already have their loyalty?” Darkstripe commented boredly.

“We don't actually. There's nothing stopping them from turning on us when the final battle comes. We have a few cats who are wholly devoted to our cause, but the rest of them will flee back to their clans as soon as they realize what we're actually trying to accomplish. Pathetic cowards,” he spat.

Cats muttered to themselves, and Tigerstar thought he had a good point. Their trainees would just scamper back to their clans with their tails between their legs, using the moves and techniques that they were taught against the very cats who trained them to be better.

“So what do you propose we do about it then? Use our powers over darkness to corrupt them or something? It would never work; Starclan is always watching the cats we trained to look for signs of corruption,” Thistleclaw grumbled.

Tigerstar's eyes narrowed into thin slits at his statement. “What if we corrupt a cat that Starclan would never suspect to turn against them?” he purred. Everyone turned to look at him, listening intently. “What we need is cat so full of light that Starclan would never dare to think that they could be corrupted to our side in the first place.”

Hawkfrost gave a cringe next to him. “You can't seriously be talking about-”

“But I am. Wouldn't it be amazing: Starclan's savior turned against them? They would never know, and I would absolutely relish the looks on their faces when they realize just who betrayed them.”

“It's not possible. He has too much _light_ within him. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have swore that you promised to rip him in two when you saw him next,” Mapleshade snarled.

“You're right; I don't like the idea of allying with him, but in this case, with him by our side, he could lead us to victory. No one will want to attack their precious savior, right?” Tigerstar meowed. “Not only that, if we can successfully corrupt him, we can bring another cat to our side; one that should have been with us a long time ago.”

Hawkfrost grinned. “Can I be the one to corrupt him? We are kin after all,” he purred.

Tigerstar gave his son a grin. “He's all yours.”

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* * *

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Firestar curled up in his nest, grateful for the chance to finally lay down and get some rest. After such a busy day, he wanted nothing more than to get some sleep. He knew he would just have more work to do in the morning.

He closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep. He immediately opened them at the weird smell that seemed to be permeating his den. His ears drew flat on his head at the sight of the dark murky forest. He could already tell there was a problem. He was never really all that aware in his dreams, unless Starclan visited him or he received a vision or omen.

“Firestar?” His head turned around to see Brambleclaw, who looked just as perplexed as he did but with a look of recognition as he gazed upon the murky forest.

“Do you where we are Brambleclaw?” he asked.

“I- I do but... this is the Dark Forest. We're not supposed to be here,” he gulped. Firestar's ears twitched at the name, recognizing that they were in the place of Starclan's opposite.

“Why are we here then?” He didn't expect an answer, and certainly not from Brambleclaw, who was looking the forest with a fearful expression.

“Why, it's your new home of course! How terrible of us to not greet our new allies right away!” They both gave slight jumps and stood back to back as Dark Forest warriors slunk out of the shadows, laughing and jeering at them. Tigerstar strode to the forefront, giving him a wicked grin. Hawkfrost was by his side, giving a mocking smile to Brambleclaw, who hissed at his half-brother.

Firestar's gaze hardened. “What did you just say?! Like fox-dung we're allies!”

Tigerstar gave him a mock pout. “I suppose we aren't allies... yet.” He suddenly laughed and the two living warriors eyes went wide at the dark aura suddenly surrounding Tigerstar. “Like it? It's just one of the many things we've received as residents of the Place of No Stars. The powers of darkness are ours to command!” The cats around him cheered at his words, giving out their praises for the shadows.

“What are you planning?” Brambleclaw growled.

“Oh you'll see very soon.” Tigerstar swished his tail, and Dark Forest warriors rushed towards them, pinning Brambleclaw to the ground and dragging him away from Firestar. Firestar himself was blocked from trying to help his deputy as the dark cats forced Brambleclaw to stand up and look in his direction. Tigerstar sprung forward and pinned Firestar on his side, exposing his belly. Firestar tried everything he could to throw Tigerstar off, but the tabby was freakishly strong. Tigerstar wouldn't even give a budge.

“Stop struggling,” he hissed. Firestar glared up at him. Tigerstar glared at the spot Firestar's heart was and gave a hiss. “I don't even need to be close to see all that _light_ swimming around in you. How nauseating.”

Firestar frowned. “What are you talking about? If you want me dead so badly, then why haven't you done so yet?” He was confused; Tigerstar should have gleefully killed him by now. Instead he was talking crazy. Had his enemy lost it?

“Oh we're not killing you. We're allies remember?”

Firestar hissed at him. “I don't ever remember allying myself with you!”

“Which is why we're going to change that.” He grinned at the ginger cat below him. “With the powers of the Dark Forest, we can corrupt any cat to our cause, make them loyal beyond comprehension. And what better cat to test it on than the one Starclan would never expect to betray them?” Firestar stared up at him with wide eyes.

“You wouldn't!” he yelped as Tigerstar's claws drew closer to his heart.

“I would. And once I'm done with you, Hawkfrost will do the same to your courageous deputy,” he turned his head to grin at his son, who was staring at him and Hawkfrost horrified. “We didn't need to do this to you Brambleclaw, if only you had stayed with us and did as we say,” Tigerstar growled.

“Neither one of us will join you!” Brambleclaw spat.

“You will; you both have no choice.” He placed his paw on Firestar, who was staring up fearfully at him. “Don't worry; you'll feel much better soon.”

An aura of darkness spread to his paws, and he forced the black into Firestar. Firestar gave a pained scream as the darkness wormed its way into him, and an explosion of light came forth from his body, trying to snuff out the darkness. Tigerstar gave a pained hiss himself, not liking the light burning him in the slightest.  
  


“Ugh, you're like a Starclan cat. Imagine how much your light reserves would have grown if you have joined them,” he grunted. He pressed onwards, trying to turn some of the light into darkness so that it was more manageable.

Firestar gave a pained cry as he felt some of his light darken into shadow. He felt so _wrong_ ; he wasn't supposed to have this much darkness forced into him! He let out another pained gasp as some darkness branched off into his mind. Brambleclaw could only watch as his father forced more darkness into his leader, who was writhing in pain on the ground.

Hawkfrost padded over to him. “That's what I'll be doing to you soon. Then we can finish what we started,” he said cheerfully. Brambleclaw's gaze slid over to his brother and then to his father and leader silently, his eyes wide in horror.

Firestar's cries of pain eventually died down as half of his light was extinguished and replaced by darkness. Suddenly he felt that it didn't feel so bad. The darkness felt warm and comforting and he couldn't tell why. They had been originally cold and unwelcoming, threatening to drown him in a deep abyss. He felt power filling him up, and it felt _good_.

Tigerstar grunted as he tried pouring more darkness into Firestar, but for some reason half of the darkness had settled right next to Firestar's remaining light. The two were balancing each other out! That wasn't supposed to happen; the darkness was supposed to eat away at Firestar's light!

Firestar only looked up at Tigerstar with a neutral expression. He grinned up at the confused tabby. “You're right, I _do_ feel better. But you know... I think I could feel even better than this.” He tore his forelegs out from Tigerstar and gripped Tigerstar's paws fiercely with strength he didn't know he had. He pressed Tigerstar's paws down and kept them in place as he willed his darkness to suck in more shadow.

Tigerstar gave a yelp as more darkness than he intended to give out funneled out of him into Firestar, who threw his head back and gave a pleased laugh at his new reserves of darkness filling themselves up to something of unnatural levels. The darkness felt amazing compared to his light. It was almost like food: why eat kittypet slop when he could have a nice, juicy, freshly caught mouse instead? He loved the feeling- and he wanted all of it.

Tigerstar screamed as all his darkness was sucked out of him into the cat below. This wasn't supposed to happen at all! He shuddered as Firestar finally released his grip, satisfied with all the darkness he collected. Tigerstar convulsed as he fell down to the ground, feeling the weakest he's ever been. It was like the kittypet had stolen every bit of darkness and power Tigerstar had.

Firestar got up to his paws and looked down at the pitiful excuse of a cat that lay there at his paws, an aura of darkness and light surrounding his body. The light and darkness swirled around each other peacefully. The Dark Forest warriors stared down at Tigerstar, horrified that their little experiment had backfired so badly.

Firestar looked at him coldly before unsheathing his claws and slashed Tigerstar's throat open. He faded into shadow before he realized what Firestar had done. Firestar's eyes lit up at the sight of Tigerstar's fading essence and willed his darkness to suck it into his body. He gave a sigh as it entered, only adding to his already big reserves.

“He just- he just absorbed it all,” Brokenstar whispered horrified.

Firestar giggled at them, gazing at the Dark Forest warriors hungrily. “So who's next?”

Hawkfrost sprang at him, enraged at the death of his father and sought to avenge him. Firestar gave a laugh as he dodged the blow and pinned Hawkfrost down easily. The tabby gave a scream as his heart opened up and all his darkness poured out of him into Firestar. He sent half of the darkness into his reserves of shadow and the other half to be eaten up by his light. He needed to keep the balance after all.

Soon there was nothing left of Hawkfrost besides a ball of darkness that Firestar held in his paws with a thoughtful stare. Another foolish warrior he didn't recognize tried attacking him, only to meet the same fate as Tigerstar and Hawkfrost did.

He absorbed this warrior's essence as well, and he gave a drawn out sigh as he stretched out his body, flexing the muscles in his back as wings of pure darkness pushed their way of out his back. He felt good. He felt powerful. Normally he would hate feeling like how he was feeling now, the very thought of his being and body being filled with darkness would horrify him. But his corrupted mind was loving it.

The remaining Dark Forest cats gave out screams as they fled from the area, terrified of what Firestar could do to them. Brambleclaw stumbled back, suddenly afraid of the ginger cat in front of him. Firestar flung himself at Brambleclaw, afraid that the tabby would try to run. His gaze softened as Brambleclaw trembled fearfully under him, his eyes shut and waiting for the final blow.

Brambleclaw's eyes flew open as Firestar gave him a nuzzle and a warm look. “You have no idea how good this feels Brambleclaw. But I don't want to take it all for myself. I still have enough light in me to want to share some with you too.” He held up the sphere of darkness he kept up to Brambleclaw's heart.

Brambleclaw stared down fearfully at it, before looking up at Firestar. “Please, don't,” he whimpered.

“Don't worry. It only hurts for a bit.” He gave his deputy another nuzzle as he carefully started pouring the darkness into Brambleclaw, setting it besides Brambleclaw's reserves of light. Brambleclaw gave a flinch at the feeling of the shadows invading his body, but otherwise didn't scream out in pain like Firestar had.

“Why doesn't it hurt?”

“Tigerstar was forcing his darkness into me and trying to turn my light into darkness. I'm only placing this darkness beside your light to balance everything out.”

Brambleclaw closed his eyes and gave a soft purr, not minding the fact that the darkness was corrupting his mind. “It feels good.”

Firestar hopped off him and let Brambleclaw get up to his paws, an aura of darkness and light cloaking Brambleclaw's body. Firestar wrapped his new wings around his deputy and gave his forehead a lick.

“Wouldn't it be great if everyone could experience this?” Brambleclaw purred.

“We still have a forest to clear out,” Firestar said, giving a look into the forest of shadows the Dark Forest warriors had fled into.

“So is this considered father-son bonding?” Brambleclaw joked. Firestar gave him a warm purr as he gave his wings a flap, hovering off the ground.

“Shall we?” he gestured Brambleclaw to go in first.

“Certainly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Forest cats freaked out because no one had ever tried to absorb someone's essence before. Especially because apparently doing so changes your body. Firestar only needed one cat to raise his powers to untold levels and two cats in order for his body to start changing. 
> 
> His darkness to light ratio is leaning heavily in favor of his darkness, but he's making sure to give some of the shadow to his light to enlarge his light reserves to their previous level. His mind is still corrupted, so he's not pure pureness anymore, but he's not quite evil either. 
> 
> For all intents and purposes, Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, and unnamed cat #1 are dead and they can't influence Firestar and Brambleclaw either. They took their essences, not their souls. Big difference. 
> 
> What happens next is up to the reader's imaginations. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	6. Hell Dragon's Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A warrior won't stop until he's had his revenge against the stars... whether in this life or in his next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't in the mood to write anything for Ignite yesterday. Guess that's what happens when you have nothing planned. I know where I'm starting and I know the end destination(maybe) but I don't how to get there lol
> 
> And this idea was stuck in my head yesterday, so I decided to write it down if I couldn't do anything for Ignite. 
> 
> So here's another Gray!Firestar for you people.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

He wished it hadn't needed to come to this.

He held in an exasperated sigh as his servants fitted his armor on him. Once he would have worn the warm colors of fire, to ignite hope across the land. Now he wore black armor fashioned into that of a humanoid dragon. He stared into the mirror, the face of a tired ginger haired man staring back at him. He watched the face twist into a scowl, remembering all the events that had brought him to this point in time.

Once upon a time he was savior, bringing with him the fires of hope wherever he went. Now he was coldhearted killer, renowned as a destroyer. If those fools had listened to him, he wouldn't have to tear the land apart in order to achieve his goal.

A knock interrupted his train of thought, and he watched the door behind him open and a brown haired man walk in. He carefully kept his face blank but inwardly he was happy to see him. Deku, his most loyal general. The boy he had picked off the streets and raised like his own son; he had been quickly accepted into his little family.

The family that he had lost. Deku and his grandchildren, Deku's children, were all he had left. He couldn't care less about this kingdom. He never wanted it in the first place.

Deku gave a hardened stare at the servants, who bowed in response to the general's presence. “Leave us,” he commanded. The servants gave another bow and left silently. The two stood still until the door was shut again, and he let out the sigh he was holding in.

“You can't convince me to stop this Deku.”

“Please, we can just just run away somewhere with the kids and, I don't know, leave all this war behind us! Be a family again.”

“We'll never be a complete family again. I put my faith in the Stars and they took my wife and daughters in return. _You_ put _your_ faith in the Stars and they took your wife as well. And people have the nerve to say how honored I should be that they're among the Stars now. Should be honored for their sacrifice,” he said furiously. “Putting our faith in the Stars was a mistake. All they do is take from us, and people still worship them! This won't stop until the Stars are destroyed or until I'm dead.”

“But the Alliance's army is bigger than ours. I've run the numbers; we're not going to win this in the end.” Deku stated.

“I know we're not winning. They won't stop until I'm dead.” He turned to meet Deku's gaze. “Only I will be participating in this battle. No one else. Everyone else in this castle will evacuate.”

Deku gaped at him. “Absolutely not!” he sputtered. “I'm not letting you go out there alone!” He looked close to breaking down in tears. “You're all I have left!”

He shook his head. “You still have your children. I won't let you orphan your kids because of your devotion to me.” He placed his hands on Deku's shoulders. “Thank you for coming this far with me Deku. But I know what I need to do.”

Deku gave a sniffle. “Kasai...”

A knock interrupted them, and a soldier popped his head into the room. “The Alliance army is approaching. What are your orders my lord?”

Kasai walked over to his armor stand, placing his hands on his helmet. “Get everyone out and away from the castle Leo.”

Leo blinked, not sure if he heard his king correctly. “Sir?”

“I'm going in alone. Get everyone out; that's an order.”

Leo balked, but bowed his head towards his king, a sad look in his eyes. “As you command.”

Kasai didn't turn around as Leo left. “Get out of here Deku,” he growled. He placed the helm on his head, a dragon head with a protective cover on his face. He turned his head to gaze upon the picture of his wife and daughters on his bedstand, and his stare softened. He was doing this for them. Everything he had done, all the good and bad was for them.

The Stars had taken everything from him. His friends, his family, his homeland, and had forced and pushed him on the path to become a king. He was afraid they would just take Deku and his grandchildren in the end too.

Deku was still standing behind him, his body trembling. He would have never shown such weakness outside this room. Kasai picked up his doubled bladed red and black scythe and walked towards Deku. He pulled the general close and gave his head a few pets, before exiting the room. He was glad that his helmet didn't show his face; he didn't want the evacuating denizens of the castle to see his tears. He knew he was going to die today. He had done too many deplorable acts to allow the Alliance leaders to keep him alive.

He was too far deep into the sea of blood he made for himself. But it didn't mean it hurt to leave his son in all but blood and his grandchildren behind.

He gripped his scythe tighter; time for the Hell Dragon to roar. All these warriors would know his pain, his sorrow, his agony, his hatred and rage by the end of the day.

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* * *

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He had been a monster on the battlefield, cutting up the vast army in front of him with ease. He had literally flew in and started taking everyone on, his movements too fast to predict. His anger and hatred at this army fueled his slaughter.

He had done pretty well for himself. The Alliance had brought a huge army with them, and he had been tired out as he got rid about three-fourths of them all. The remaining quarter, as well as their leaders, his past comrades, had finally captured him in the end.

He chuckled brokenly as blood trickled past his lips. The leaders glared down at his broken form. “What's so funny traitor?” Eichi snarled. “Finally realize you're done for?” Kiri, Kuro, and Kono nodded to his words, Kiri and Kono looking down at him with sad betrayed eyes.

“How could you have done so much bloodshed Kasai? You were supposed to be a beckon of hope,” Kiri said sadly.

“A beckon of hope to be used by the Stars you mean. Just like all of you. You're all being used by them,” he murmured.

“Why?! You were my idol! I looked up to you! We all did!” Kono cried.

He laughed some more and spat out some blood past his broken face plate. “You all know why. They took _everything_ from me. I just returned the favor. And as long as you fools still worship them, this land can never know peace.”

“They'll know peace, just as soon as you die,” Kuro snarled.

“Mmm I know you're going to kill me. But I still have something up my sleeve.” Kasai started muttering in a low tone, and they couldn't make out what he was saying. A white ritual circle lit up on the ground under his bloodied and broken body, a five-pointed star in the middle. He knew he was going to die today, but that didn't mean he would ever stop in his campaign to destroy the Stars. They had taken too much from him for him to consider dying before his work was finished.

“What- what is this? What are you doing?!” Eichi screeched at him.

“You don't think I wasn't prepared to die today? I knew this would happen, so I prepared this ahead of time! I won't stop until they're destroyed! If I can't do it in this life, then I'll succeed in the next!” he laughed manically. Kuro rushed forward and pierced his body with his sword, and Kasai coughed up blood as his body failed him. Still, he smiled as black dots danced in his vision, a feeling of cold gripping his body.

“You'll all see...” he whispered. His reincarnation would do the work for him, or he would guide them himself.

The Alliance leaders were unnerved at the smile gracing his face as he died.

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* * *

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' _Huh, the reincarnating as a cat was unexpected, but I can still make this work.'_ Kasai grinned within the cat's headspace as he peered out from the cat's vision. He was going hunting with his soon to be mate and apprentice. He remembered doing this with his own family, years ago.

His reincarnation was lucky. He hadn't known the sheer _loss_ that Kasai felt everyday yet. He watched Bramblepaw excitedly bounce around Fireheart's paws as he talked with Sandstorm. He was glad his wife and Deku had reincarnated with him. They could be a family again.

' _The Stars won't take them away from us. Not again.'_

Fireheart blinked and scanned the forest, wondering where the voice came from. It almost sounded like his own...

“Fireheart? Is there something wrong?” He turned back to Sandstorm and Bramblepaw and gave a shake of his head.

“Ah, it's nothing. Just thought I heard something. Must have been the wind,” he joked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what they say, you either die the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. 
> 
> BULLETPOINT TIME!
> 
> ~Kasai=Firestar-- literally means Fire  
> ~Eichi= Onestar--- Eichi means Wisdom but it's close enough to sounding like Ichi which means One. No one in their right mind would name their kid "One" though so...  
> ~Kuro=Blackstar-- literally means black  
> ~Kiri= Mistystar-- literally means mist  
> ~Kono= Leafstar-- short for Konoha which means Leaf  
> ~Deku= Bramblestar -- short for Dekuwasu, which either means 'come across' or Bramble  
> ~Leo.... might be Lionblaze? Who knows; reincarnation is a fickle thing
> 
> ~The ritual circle gave Kasai a guaranteed reincarnation with the added bonus of being alive within Firestar. If Firestar doesn't carry out Kasai's will, then Kasai can just take over and do it himself. 
> 
> ~Kasai was just a simple warrior who wanted nothing more than to retire and raise a family. Obviously, this didn't happen. The Stars wanted him to be one of the rulers of the land. So they continuously pushed Kasai towards that goal even if it meant losing everyone dear to him. 
> 
> ~Deku's wife might be Squirrelflight's past life or someone else entirely. Maybe Kasai just considered Deku to be his son so Deku's children were his grandchildren too. I'll leave it up to the readers. 
> 
> ~Who are Deku's children? Are they the Three or are they Sparkpelt and Alderheart? Again, reincarnation is weird. 
> 
> ~Hell Dragon is his moniker after he started slaughtering people for worshiping the Stars. 
> 
> ~Why a double-bladed scythe? Cause it's awesome. He used to use a sword before he became the Hell Dragon...
> 
> Leave a review/comment if you have questions or ideas
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	7. Fox Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strange things have been happening inside the Thunderclan camp. Fireheart hides his true self while having some fun at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated Ignite pretty late yesterday and had no motivation to start on the next chapter. Also if I uploaded another chapter for Ignite at the usual times I update, Fanfiction will consider it updated yesterday instead of today which is super annoying. It means Ignite doesn't go to the top of the list to let people know it's been updated. 
> 
> So I decided to write another thing for the AU Dump. It's pretty short this time(sorry ;-;) but I need to remind myself that these are ideas to use for later. Or for anyone else to write about. 
> 
> Ideas for the AU Dump are welcomed!
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Tigerclaw stalked over to Longtail and Darkstripe with a mouse dangling from his jaws. It had been a busy day and he really wanted something to eat; he deserved some rest after all. He would be running this clan soon if he had anything to say about it. He shifted his eyes to leer at Cloudkit, who passed by him with moss in his jaws on his way to the elders den.

Dumb kit.

He dropped the mouse next to the other cats, and sat down next to them. “Mouse-brained kittypet. Cleaning the elders' den is all the kit's good for.” Darkstripe and Longtail snickered at his words, giving off nods of agreement.

“He'll never last as a apprentice, let alone a warrior,” Darkstripe sneered.

Two green eyes narrowed as they studied the cats across the camp. A mischievous smile lit up his face. His sand-colored she-cat companion narrowed her eyes at him, giving an exasperated sigh.

Tigerclaw dipped his head to take a bite of the mouse, and quickly realized that all he bit off was air. He blinked and saw the mouse by his side. He could have swore he placed it in front of him. A picked it up and placed it in front of his paws this time, and lowered his head to take a bite. He once again hit nothing but air.

His head snapped upright, glaring at the mouse, and he placed his paw firmly onto the mouse and lowered his head to bite it. It flew out of his paws and stopped a tail length away. Longtail and Darkstripe stared bemusedly as Tigerclaw tried catching his prey. They could have swore the thing was dead.

“Come here you!” Tigerclaw yelled. Cats turned their heads to gap at Tigerclaw chasing a dead, but very mobile mouse around camp. He gave one last pounce and trapped it firmly within his paws. He gave an alarmed mew when he felt the mouse struggle wildly within his paws. He couldn't hold onto the mouse anymore and the mouse flew out from his paws. Its dead eyes stared out at him mockingly before its mouth opened up wider than possible and let out an unholy shriek.

Tigerclaw stumbled backwards, his ears flat on his head as he gave his own yowl of surprise. He wasn't the only one, as cats around him were startled out of their fur at the seemingly dead mouse coming back to life.

The tabby was beginning to wonder if this was a bad dream as the mouse vanished in a blink of an eye. Longtail and Darkstripe stared at him from afar before Longtail let out a startled gasp as the mouse was just... there in front of them, exactly where Tigerclaw originally dropped it off to eat.

“What is going on?!” Longtail shrieked.

This wasn't even the first time something strange had happened in the camp. Cats chattered uncomfortably, almost resigned to the fact that weird stuff would just happen around here, and mentally added the incident to the list of weird stuff that happened in camp.

None of the cats noticed the snickering ginger tom, whose face had been slightly scrunched up in concentration during the whole fiasco. Sandstorm rolled her eyes and pushed him to his paws and nudged him away from camp. Once they were far enough from the others, Sandstorm whirled around and cuffed him over the ear.

“Ow! Sandstorm!”

“You're a mouse-brain you know that? If you keep this up, cats will start to notice that you're never affected!”

Fireheart pouted, offended that she thought he would get caught. “I'll just make it so I get targeted the next time I see an opportunity,” he smirked.

She stared at him for a few heartbeats and gave a sigh. She jumped behind him, and ignored Fireheart's pleading cries for her to stop and gave his tail a harsh tug. Fireheart shuddered before his tail split into five, fluffy fox-like tails. He wrapped his tails around his body and gave one of them a few licks.

“Did you have to tug so hard?” he muttered. She could have just asked...

He stiffened as she stood over him with an imposing glare. “Tone it down,” she said.

“F-fine...” He was no match for her. It was like she cast something on him to make his heart go aflutter around her. This was the cat who made fun of him for being a kittypet when he first joined the clan- how had he fallen in love with this she-cat?

Sandstorm gave a drawn out sigh. “Come on, put your tails away and let's get back before anyone starts missing us.” She turned away and padded off, but not before adding: “And don't even think about playing around with the clan deputy again mouse-brain!”

Tigerclaw deserved it though, calling his nephew useless. He looked down at his tails thoughtfully, grateful that his illusions had gotten so powerful that no one would ever know about the secret kitsune inside their clan.

He remembered his father being so happy that at least one of his kits had inherited his bloodline. He and his siblings, even Cloudkit had kitsune blood running through their veins, but it was rare for someone with kitsune blood to actually become a full-fledged kitsune. He was the lucky kit of the litter. Jake had stuck around to teach Fireheart all he knew about their kind before Fireheart joined Thunderclan.

He had wanted to be like Jake one day, with multiple tails. He had five now, but when he got even older, he would gain more. His illusions would grow even stronger then. He couldn't wait for that day to come.

Tigerclaw would never know it was him the whole time. He chortled gleefully before focusing on putting his tails away and followed Sandstorm back to camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I turned Fires into a Kitsune this time. Nothing in the rules saying I couldn't do it. 
> 
> Kitsunes are usually associated with specific numbers- 5 being one of them, so he currently has five tails. Later in life he would get up to eight tails. He grew a ninth tail once he joined Starclan and became a Tenko, which is a heavenly fox. 
> 
> Foxfire and illusions are his thing even though I didn't showcase the fox fire this time around. Oops. But hey, he's part fox and his name has Fire in it soooo.... Foxfire? Get it? I'm not funny
> 
> Becoming a kitsune is very rare! Jake and Firestar had the right conditions to become one, but no one else in the family managed to become kitsunes themselves. The closest anyone came to having at least two tails was Jayfeather but it never happened unfortunately. His powers as part of the Three were boosted because of the kitsune blood though. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	8. My Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaders are assigned Guardians upon ascension. Meaning, they shove a cat inside their heads to help them out when they feel like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to take a bit of a break from Ignite. Writing the last two chapters was just... forceful. It's like I have to force myself to write something everyday before September, because we all know what happens when September hits. S C H O O L
> 
> ...Is what I would say if my classes weren't online. LOL I still have virtual meetings but hey, at least I don't have to drive all the way there.
> 
> Some of you people go back to school in August or even July and I truly pity your existences. What monsters make you go back that early?
> 
> So I forced myself to write something that was in my head for a bit now. It ended up pretty differently than what I originally envisioned.
> 
> Also, one of the reviewers asked if I could write other cats other than Fire and Bramble. Wellll I could... but I'm more comfortable with writing about these two bois. If you leave a suggestion for a cat AND AU, I might be willing to write about them. Maybe. I might write about other cats, but I really need an idea to go with them. I just don't have ideas for any of the other cats(isn't that sad?). 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

Bramblestar paced in the leaders' den, his face furrowed in thought. He wondered how Alderpaw and Sparkpaw were faring on their quest. Not only them but Sandstorm, who wasn't as young as she was when she first made her journey to find Skyclan.

“What if they ran into trouble? Like maybe they've been attacked by a fox? Alderpaw has limited herbs out there, what if an injury gets infected? What if someone's already died?!” he muttered to himself.

“Honestly are you talking to yourself again?” He looked up to see Squirrelflight at the entrance of the den, an eyebrow raised in his direction. They stared at each other, Bramblestar's worry evident on his face. Squirrelflight gave a sigh and gave him a lick on the cheek. “They're going to be fine you dumb fur-ball. Worrying isn't going to make them come back alright any faster,” she soothed her mate.

“I know, it's just... I can't stop worrying about them; they're our kits for Starclan's sake!”

_'Yeah, and I'm worried about my mate, but you don't see me mumbling and pacing around do you?'_

Bramblestar flinched, still not used to hearing a voice in his head after all these moons. He glared up at nothing. “You're dead, shouldn't you want Sandstorm by your side? And you can't pace around anyway, you're stuck in my head!”

_'Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I want Sandstorm dying on some quest! It's not like I can see anyone from Starclan anyway, so this is the only time I can see her before she...'_ the voice trailed off. Bramblestar stayed silent, knowing what he was talking about.

Once a clan leader received all nine lives, a Guardian was chosen from the ranks of Starclan to help and guide the new leader when necessary. And when Starclan meant help, what they really meant was that they shoved the chosen cat into the leader's head in order to act like a second conscious.

He had seen enough with the other leaders when he was deputy to know that he really _didn't_ want the extra help. Bluestar had been chosen for Firestar, and they bickered enough in front of the clan to know exactly who had been picked for Firestar. Apparently Bluestar mother-henned Firestar a lot.

Onestar was always fearful of something, always flinching and wincing when he thought no one was looking. It wouldn't be until Bramblestar became leader that he learned that Tallstar was in Onestar's head, and he was never all that thrilled with the many decisions the Windclan leader made.

Blackstar had received Stonefur of all cats as a Guardian, and he always looked remorseful and made sure to _listen_ to the cat in his head whenever Stonefur decided to speak up.

Rowanstar hinted that Blackstar was in his head, but Bramblestar wasn't certain on that one.

He wasn't sure who Mistystar had received, and she never really hinted as to who the cat was. Mistystar never went silent listening to whoever was in her head whenever he was around her. And since he was hardly around her anyway, it was really hard to tell.

He hadn't at all been surprised at the end of his nine lives ceremony when it was announced that Firestar would be his Guardian. He was glad that his time with the ginger tom hadn't been cut short after all. They got into some banter and bickering every now and then, with Firestar either questioning Bramblestar's motives or telling him that the tabby couldn't rely on Firestar for everything, but they still got along swimmingly.

The problem with being chosen as a Guardian was the lack of connection to Starclan. Sure, they might be called to Starclan every once in a while, but most of the time the cats were stuck in the leader's heads.

Once Sandstorm died, Firestar wouldn't get to be with his mate until Bramblestar himself lost all nine lives. He might see her when he was summoned to Starclan, but those summons were few and far between.

Squirrelflight stared at him puzzled, before her eyes lit up in realization. “Are you talking to father again? Please tell me even he thinks you're being mouse-brained.”

Bramblestar snorted. “No, he's about as worried for Sandstorm as much as I'm worried for Sparkpaw and Alderpaw.”

' _You make it sound like I'm doing exactly what_ you're _doing...'_

“Ugh, you're both mouse-brains!” She whirled around to stomp out of the leaders' den. “Our kits will be fine Bramblestar! Father, Mother can take care of herself! What do you think she'll say if she knew you thought she couldn't handle it?”

' _She would rake my ears. But that doesn't stop me from being a worried mate,'_ Firestar murmured within Bramblestar's head, not exactly caring that his daughter was only getting half of the conversation and wouldn't hear his answer.

Bramblestar nodded to his words, and Squirrelflight stalked out of the den in exasperated defeat, understanding that Firestar and Bramblestar weren't going to stop with their unease.

The tabby leader waited until she was out of earshot. “These are her kits too. And her mother. She should be just as worried,” he muttered.

' _She has faith in them, and so should we. Worrying isn't going to do anything for anyone.'_

Bramblestar took a deep breath, before nodding. “Okay. Okay.”

_'You know I'm always here for you right? I literally cannot leave your head,_ ' Firestar said amused.

“I know,” Bramblestar purred.

_'Just relax. Everything usually works out in the end._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I didn't know who to assign as Guardians for Mistystar and Rowanstar. Soooo that's where you readers come in and fill in the blanks yourselves! 
> 
> Stonefur acting as Blackstar's guardian totally fits. 
> 
> Having these cats act as a second conscious really changes the narrative. You really think Tallstar would let Onestar get away with half the stuff he did? 
> 
> Originally the Guardians could manifest outside the leader's bodies, but only the leaders could actually see them. So you would just have these four cats lording over the leaders at Gatherings, laughing and joking at their expense and only the leaders would know and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	9. Bloodline of the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once every generation the bloodline activates. Of course, Fireheart tries his best to keep it a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my parents dragged the whole family out to go to a huge store cause they wanted to look for certain things, only for us to get there to see a giant line going around the block. They were limiting the amount of people going in, and we really didn't want to wait in that line for over two hours in almost 90 degree weather. So we went elsewhere :P
> 
> And like everytime we go out somewhere and come back home, I get a headache. It wasn't a headache yesterday though, it felt like a migraine. You don't get very motivated to write when your head is pounding and your stomach wants to hurl its contents out. But I was determined to write SOMETHING yesterday cause I'm stupid like that. 
> 
> So I wrote another Mermaid/mercat AU. It didn't feel like it belonged with H20: Just add Cats so I put it here. I did say that this collection wouldn't just be AUs, but also alternate stuff from my other fics. 
> 
> So here's another Bloodline idea. 
> 
> Sorry for all those waiting for Ignite. I'm so evil leaving the story with a cliffhanger >:)
> 
> Also Fanfiction is down today. Lovely. Really glad Ignite isn't updating today, that throws the whole schedule out of whack. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

“ _Mom? There's something wrong with my body!” Rusty wailed. He couldn't feel his hindlegs at all! Nutmeg rushed over to her son, who had fallen onto his stomach, whimpering in discomfort at the foreign feeling in his legs... or lack of legs. There was a scaly ginger tail where his hindlegs should have been._

_Nutmeg gave a purr and nudged him up on his front paws. “There's nothing wrong with you dear, it's just that you've come into the family inheritance,” she purred. He looked up at her blearily, not understanding. “You remember that I said that my family line has a special bloodline that shows up once every generation?”_

“ _Mmhm.”_

“ _Well you've managed to activate it,” she purred._

“ _But I only drank some water from the water bowl! Am I going to be like this forever?!”_

“ _No you're not going to be like this forever, you just need to dry off,” she laughed amused. “But Rusty, you must always be careful around water. One drop can change you in an instant. You must promise to never tell anyone about this.”_

“ _But what if I really have to tell someone?”_

“ _Then make sure that they can be trusted.”_

_Rusty looked down, wondering who constituted as trusted. “Okay.”_

“ _Now let's dry you off and get you used to your powers.”_

“ _We have powers?” he exclaimed excitedly. In response to his question, she clenched her paw, and he gave a yelp at the heat burning off the minuscule amount of water on him. He gave a purr at the feeling of his tail turning back into his hindlegs, and he gave himself a stretch. He turned to his mother excitedly._

“ _When can we start?”_

It seemed so long ago that he discovered his mercat lineage. It had been so easy keeping it a secret from other cats when he had been a kittypet. He was careful with how he drank water, there weren't any streams nearby, and the housefolk kept him inside their den when it rained. He was never in danger of getting wet and showing off his tail.

Joining Thunderclan had been a blessing and a curse. He had finally been freed from that stuffy Twoleg den, as well as that restrictive collar, and he had been over the moon with excitement when he found out about the stream that cut through Thunderclan territory. His tail would finally see some use!

The problem was that he was apart of the clan now, and they expected Fireheart to go out and patrol and hunt even in rain. He had to get creative with his excuses of why he couldn't go out when it started pouring. Of course, Graystripe had followed him one day and saw his tail, but Graystripe was his best friend and promised not to tell anyone.

He figured his friend was getting a little obsessed...

“Come on! I just want to see one more time!” Graystripe whined.

“You've seen my tail multiple times, how much more do I have to show you before you're satisfied?” Fireheart said plainly.

“I can't help it, it's just so cool!” Fireheart could have sworn he saw stars in his friend's eyes. He took a look at the sky, it was around sunset, and all the hunting and border patrols had returned already. Tigerclaw wouldn't be sending anymore out tonight. The thought of the evil deputy witnessing his mercat form was stomach churning. He had to be extra careful around the deputy.

The clan had gotten used to his and Graystripes night walks. They wouldn't be too suspicious of what they were doing. Except for Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, and Longtail, who would try to find fault with anything they did.

“Come on,” he signaled Graystripe. The gray tom padded after him excitedly, not aware of the sandy she-cat narrowing her eyes in suspicion and following them.

They finally made it to the stream that cut into the territory, and it was thankfully still sunset. It was the best time if he wanted to see his scales truly shimmer in the light. Graystripe bounced excitedly on his paws, waiting for Fireheart to jump in. Well, he wouldn't deny his friend any longer. He jumped in and hovered underwater as his legs were replaced with his tail.

He loved the water. It was so freeing! Down here, he was truly free; he could glide through the water better than any Riverclan cat could possibly hope to be. He felt at home here. He surfaced and let the muscles in his tail do the work for him, pushing him towards Graystipe. His friend never minded his wet paws as he rushed to meet him, crowing how amazing his mercat form was, a paw sliding across his scales.

“What is the name of Starclan?” They both stiffened in shock at the voice, and Fireheart _knew_ that someone had seen him. Graystripe rushed towards the bushes and tackled the hidden cat.

“What the- Sandpaw?” Graystripe uttered in shock.

“Let go of me you big mouse-brain!” she yowled. He warily let go of her, and turned back to Fireheart in time to see his best friend dive down and hide underwater.

“Oh no, not again,” he groaned. Fireheart had freaked out when Graystripe had found out and did the exact same thing he was doing now. He got freaked out that someone found out his secret and got scared, diving underwater in his fear. Graystripe had to wait for Fireheart to resurface, and had promised to help him when he needed it.

“How much did you see?” he questioned the she-cat.

“I saw enough to know he grows a tail when he's in water,” she grumbled.

His stare hardened. “You mustn't tell anyone of this, not even Bluestar!”

“Too late for that.” They both jumped when they saw their leader walk casually out of the bushes, as if nothing would faze her. Bluestar gave them a look before turning her attention to the stream. The sunset cast a glow over the water, creating a glare that made it so no one could see the mercat hiding at the bottom. “How long is he going to hide?”

“Not sure. Maybe if I call him...?” Graystripe wasn't sure if his voice would reach through the water though.

“Try,” Bluestar commanded.

He padded forward until he was standing at the edge. A thought came to mind and he turned back to Bluestar. “You're not going to exile him for this are you?” he asked, panic on his face.

Bluestar looked affronted at the accusation. “Of course I'm not going to exile him!” She didn't elaborate further and waited.

Graystripe sighed and called down into the stream. “Fireheart please come back up, they can be trusted with this,” he glanced back to Sandpaw, “I think.” A few moments later Fireheart popped his head up from the water, and the sight of Bluestar almost sent him back into a panic. “Hey it's okay, she can be trusted!”

“Fireheart, come here,” Bluestar spoke. He swam up to the edge of the stream, where Bluestar walked up to to meet him. He flinched when she bent down and gave his forehead a lick. “Honestly, it's not like you're subtle or anything. I can recognize when a cat is keeping a big secret to themselves.” She gave his tail an appraising look. “Why would you hide this from the clan? You know how suspicious it is for you to stay inside your den every time it rains? If you had told us we would have helped you,” she said softly.

Fireheart looked embarrassed. “I- it's just- my mother said not to tell anyone if I didn't think they could be trusted. And the clan...” he trailed off, tail shifting in the water, “It's not like they trusted me to make it this far,” he murmured. “The last thing I needed was for Tigerclaw or Darkstripe or someone else to have a reason to kick me out.”

“Do you really not trust me?” she murmured. Fireheart drew in on himself in response. As far as he knew, he shouldn't be trusting anyone to keep his secret. But Bluestar had never done him any wrong; she was almost like his mother.

“I- I trust _you_. But I shouldn't be telling everyone so carelessly.” He glanced over a Sandpaw, who was watching his tail in fascination. “And not everyone in the clan likes me in particular.”

Sandpaw snapped out of her fascination. “Honestly, it's not like I'd tell anyone! Who do you take me for?” she said, flustered.

“Sure, like you wouldn't run off and tell Dustpaw all about it,” Graystripe meowed. She looked down, remembering that she had made her distaste for Fireheart very clear when he first joined Thunderclan. He wouldn't have trusted her with anything.

“Fireheart,” his attention turned back to Bluestar, “I'm your leader, and I'm here to serve my clan. As far as I'm aware, you're still part of this clan, which means I'm here to help you too.” She gave him a another lick. “You don't need to tell anyone else of this. But I'm always here if you need to talk to someone about the tail and water thing.” She got up to her paws and turned to head back to camp. “Now get out of the stream and dry off. The clan will be wondering where we're all at.”

He really didn't want to get out though; the water was always so inviting to him. Nevertheless, he got out and started drying himself off, ignoring the stares as steam arose from his body.

“I mean, even though you turn half-fish in water, you still manage to look decent,” Sandpaw said as they headed back to camp.

“You think I look good?” It was the best compliment he had gotten out of her since he joined.

“I said decent, not spectacular!”

Graystripe snickered into his paw. “Looks like someone likes the tail!” he laughed in a sing-song tone.

“I do not!”

Bluestar's whiskers twitched into a smile. ' _Ah, young love.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little did Sandpaw know.... that super hawt mercat would be her husbando. I'd like to think as they got closer and became mates, Fires would teach her how to swim. It would make for some cute moments. 
> 
> Fires powers aren't strong enough yet for him to avoid water easily in front of other cats. That will come in time.
> 
> The bloodline comes from Nutmeg's line! It went from her, to Firestar, and than to one of Firestar's kit (leaning towards Squirrelflight) and then to one or two of his grandkits. As for Firestar's littermates, the bloodline stayed dormant. 
> 
> Or you (the reader) can come up with stuff yourself. This is just an idea for others to run with. Which by the way, if you really want to write something that's inspired by anything here, go for it. 
> 
> (Also if you suggest a story it has to be a cat I might be interested in with a good AU I also might be interested in. Otherwise I probably won't write anything until I get inspired again. I'll more than likely write something if it's about Firestar lol) 
> 
> Who knows maybe the next thing I write about will be that Djinn AU... we'll see.
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	10. Ignite: Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firestar brings his mate and hatchlings to their new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hit a writers block yesterday and wasn't sure how to continue Ignite. I felt like whatever I had planned wouldn't be a good length chapter, so I decided to write something else. But I also had writer's block for everything else. I wasn't up for continuing any of my other fics, and I had no new AUs that I was in the mood to write. So I went with the one thing that was fresh in my mind. 
> 
> This is the alternate ending to Ignite! Essentially, the Bad Ending, because Firestar gives into the stone's influence and becomes a full dragon in mind and body. 
> 
> Hopefully I'll be writing the next chapter of Ignite later tonight. And if you haven't read Ignite yet, you should totally go and read it. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

Brambleclaw gave a yelp at the wind tugging at his fur, claws digging into the scales underneath him to keep him steady. Sandstorm, Squirrelflight, and Leafpool did the same, their fear scents overwhelming his senses. He couldn't blame them for being scared when they were being carried above the clouds at such a high speed that they felt like they could be blown away and fall to the ground at any moment.

He craned his head to peer up at his former leader, who was looking ahead into the distance, intent on getting to his destination.

Brambleclaw couldn't believe that this had happened. It was one thing for Jayfeather to describe what Firestar had become in his dream, but it was another thing to witness it.

Firestar was _massive_. Brambleclaw wasn't even the size of Firestar's smallest claw! His body didn't resemble anything of a cat's anymore, every inch of his body covered in black scales that gleamed his old ginger color in the sunlight. He looked like a lizard more than anything.

_Dragon_ , his mind supplied. Firestar had called himself a dragon, not that Brambleclaw knew what a dragon was exactly. It must be the name of the thing Firestar had become.

What saddened him was the fact that Firestar's eyes were still green, which told him that the stone, which had become a tiny dot embedded in Firestar's chest, wasn't in total control. Firestar had taken them from Thunderclan by his own will. Perhaps the stone was still influencing him, but it was up to Firestar to act to on those thoughts, and he did so eagerly.

“Firestar, please! It's not too late to go back!” Brambleclaw tried yelling over the wind. The dragon's eyes shifted down to the four cats he was carrying in his claw, and gently closed it into a fist. It was a subtle message that nothing was up for debate. He slowly brought the claw up to his chest, cradling it gently.

He remembered when the stone first started talking to him, showing him images of what he could have if he finally just left all thoughts of the clans behind. All he needed to do was to take his treasures and leave, and he would be so much happier. He had tried resisting, but the promise of a peaceful, content life was too much. The clans hadn't wanted him anyway, so what was the point of sticking around?

They thought of him as a monster... so he became one. As soon as he gave into a stone's will, his body had undergone the final transformation: scales growing all over his body, more horns growing in, his body structure turning more draconic than cat, growing to a massive size, _becoming stronger_. It had been an absolute delight to feel his body change so drastically, his flames becoming so hot that they could have burned down the lake in mere heartbeats.

The stone had lent him its power, its magic, and it had been _so easy_ to return to Thunderclan territory and take what was rightfully his. He felt so free; no more obligations and responsibilities other than keeping his family safe, no more unnecessary border fights, no more Starclan telling him what to do. As far as Firestar was concerned, the Dark Forest was Starclan's problem. He was done fighting all their battles for them.

He lamented the fact that the four cats within his claw weren't dragons themselves. He hoped that the stone would grant his family the bodies of dragons soon, because the size difference was kind of awkward. He wished to start a new clutch with Sandstorm, have more hatchlings, but with their current size difference... Maybe someday they would enlarge their family.

He descended as the new home he picked out for them came into view. The first thing he done after changing wasn't to go back to Thunderclan, but rather scout out a new home that could sustain them all. He knew his treasures wouldn't be going anywhere, so they would be safe within Thunderclan until it was time to retrieve them.

He needed a place with a good den, plenty of prey, a clean water source, and no Twolegs trying to hunt them down. He had come across a perfect little valley during his scouting, a place untouched by Twolegs that was plentiful in such large prey that it wouldn't need much for him to feel full.

He landed, folding up his wings and making sure that the cats inside his clenched fist were okay. He strode into the cave he landed next to, opening up his claw to let the cats out. They were huddled together, their fear scent still permeating through the air. Well that wouldn't do. He lowered his claw to let them off, and Brambleclaw hesitantly, but bravely climbed down his claw and landed on the springy moss floor of the cave.

There were four small nests close by, each one filled with the best moss Firestar could find and not destroy with his size and claws, lined with soft feathers and Twoleg trinkets he had come across while scouting. He couldn't help himself; they were just so pretty and shiny!

Brambleclaw gave a chirp to the three she-cats still standing on Firestar's claw, and they all scrambled down to meet the tabby.

Squirrelflight whirled around to face her father. “Why would you take us like that? Now Thunderclan has no leader, no deputy, and one less medicine cat! You have to return us to Thunderclan!” she yelled at him.

“This isn't like you at all. What happened to wanting the best for Thunderclan?” Sandstorm whispered.

“ **Why would I want the best for those who chased me out?** ” his deeper voice boomed.

“Father, they didn't mean it, they were just scared...” Leafpool murmured.

“ **So was I. I was scared of what I was becoming and they figured that I could figure things out on my own; that I would be okay. I had no intentions of hurting anyone- guess they didn't know me as well as they thought if they thought I would intentionally hurt even one hair on their pelts.** ” He lumbered past them, setting himself down on the mossy floor of the cave. The cave was just a giant nest for him.

“ **They wanted a monster, so I became one. It's only natural that I came back for those that are rightfully mine.** ”

They opened their mouths to protect, before Firestar shut them down with a glare. “ **I'll have no more talk of the clans. You four are my treasures- you belong to me, and I always take care of what's mine.** ” He gestured to the nests he made for them by his claws.

Brambleclaw weighed his options. He could wait until Firestar was gone or asleep and slip out with the she-cats and escape. The problem was that he had no idea where they were or how far away they were from Thunderclan. At the speed he felt Firestar was going while they were up in the air, it could very well take moons to get back to the clan. So even if he were to map out an escape plan, they would still have no idea where to go. Not to mention that with Firestar's senses, the dragon would instantly know if they were trying to escape. There was no overpowering him, and Firestar would have no trouble tracking them down and bringing them back.

Even if they managed to return to Thunderclan, what was stopping Firestar from following them and burning the lake territories down in order to bring them back? He was clearly desperate to keep the four with him after all.

In short, there was no escape; not even Starclan could do anything to Firestar. So, with a resigned sigh, he padded over to one of the nests and sat himself down. He was pleasantly surprised at the sheer plushness of the moss and feathers, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and get some sleep.

“Brambleclaw-” Squirrelflight started.

“There's nothing to debate here Squirrelflight. We can't escape from him and even if we did, we have no idea where we are and what direction to go to in order to return back to Thunderclan. And who knows how long it would take to get back on foot? Face it, there's nothing we can do,” he meowed. Surely the ginger she-cat didn't want to fight her father did she? That was just foolish.

Firestar nodded to his words, tail twitching happily that one of his hatchlings wanted to stay. Sandstorm gave her daughters sad licks on their heads and moved to join Brambleclaw, taking one of the nests for herself. Leafpool stood in silence before bowing her head and joining them. Squirrelflight stared at them all, not believing that they had given in so easily. She tightened her jaw and sat down, not wanting to join them.

“ **Hatchling?** ” Firestar murmured. Her gaze softened at the hurt look he was giving her. He had prepared all the necessities for the four; everything he was doing was for them after all. He didn't want his daughter rejecting him. What would he have to do to make his hatchling smile again?

“Honestly, Squirrelflight, think this over. If we can't escape, we might as well enjoy ourselves,” Leafpool meowed. Her sister gave her a startled look. “Look, I'm worried for them all too. I left my kits and friends behind. They're going to be attacked by the Dark Forest any day now. _I'm worried_. But sulking around isn't going to change our situation. _There's literally nothing we can do_.” Leafpool hissed. She was angry at her father for taking them against their wills, for leaving everyone behind. But what could she do? She couldn't fight him and she couldn't escape.

Squirrelflight gave a sniffle, and Firestar curled his tail around her and lifted her up and brought her to his head. “ **Everything will be alright hatchling, I promise** ,” he purred. He gave her a gentle nuzzle, before setting her on the final nest. His body curled around his treasures, his head by Sandstorm, who gave him a lick he barely felt on his scales. But he loved it anyway. He loved _them_.

They would learn to love their new home soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are four cats going to do against a full blown dragon? Nothing. There's literally nothing they can do. And Starclan doesn't walk the skies where the five live now, so they're out. Not like they could do anything either.
> 
> Does the stone have enough power to transform the cats into dragons? Maybe. Firestar certainly hopes it can. He'd love to see little hatchlings running around soon...
> 
> Thunderclan is kind of screwed. They need to pick a new leader and deputy before the Dark Forest comes knocking on their doorstep, and not many cats are deputy material, let alone leader. Although it could be that the clans are screwed in general, because Firestar was the Fourth, and he's not going to be participating in any of their battles- so with no prophecy cat to oppose and kill Tigerstar... I guess he wins? But hey, Firestar wins either way. He's quite happy with what he's got now. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	11. Across Multiple Rebirths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two fading gods promise that they will find a way back to each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to work on Ignite yesterday, but I typed a few words and decided that I wasn't up for it. I was pretty fidgety yesterday night and I know it's all because of my classes. So I decided to write something else on my mind. 
> 
> Also I've been getting reviews on Fanfiction(as in the review count is going up) but every time I go to see the review page, the reviews aren't there. So Fanfiction is tripping again. So I don't know what that's about. 
> 
> I think by the word count, I enjoyed writing this one lol
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Looking out at the vast array of stars never got old. He had helped create them after all. He always saw the beauty of his creations. The way the stars twinkled and swirled, the beauty of each individual planet teaming with life, even the blackness of the universe complimented every single piece of creation. To top it all off, it was all his.

Well, almost all his. If there was anything more beautiful than his creations then it was the majestic _goddess_ dancing among the stars. She was in the process of creating more life, more matter. Her movements were hypnotizing to his eyes. She held beauty that the universe itself couldn't compare to. If destroying the universe, his creation, _their_ creation, meant his goddess being safe and unharmed, he would gladly do so.

His beautiful Hypaea- Goddess of Creation. She was all his, just as he was all hers.

He didn't tear his eyes away from her dance- it would be disgraceful and rude to do so. He was privileged to witness her act of creation, and to look away... well he wouldn't be a good mate would he?

She stopped her dance, multiple stars and planets having been created, she slowly floated down to his level, his arms held out for him to catch her. He felt the spark they usually felt with each other's touch as he embraced her and reveled in it.

He let his eyes wander down to his arm, which was more transparent compared to the rest of his body. Worrying about it wouldn't matter- his whole body would soon follow. A glance at Hypaea told him that some of her body was also transparent looking.

There was no mistake about it- they were fading. He didn't want to look away from Hypaea's dance because it was very well her last one.

The problem stemmed from their more sentient creations. Many civilizations on multiple planets had advanced to the point where they knew the two gods of creation existed, so they each came up with different interpretations of them. It was amusing at first, to see what their creations thought of them. But as those civilizations progressed, so did the interpretations. Their belief in these gods brought them to life, and these gods were created fully believing to be _them._

These... false gods had usurped them- stolen credit for their work. The idea of _them_ had been given to others, and with no one to remember their names... they were fading, plain and simple. He didn't want to fade; fading meant that he would no longer get to see and touch this lovely being he was embracing.

“I don't wish to fade if it means I no longer get to see you, my beloved,” she murmured. He was alarmed at the starry tears trailing down her face. It made him so _mad_ seeing his beloved saddened like this. His goddess shouldn't need to bear any negative emotion on her face.

He hesitantly broke away from her, and he felt his powers of destruction well up from deep within his body. They were Gods of Creation, but with creation came destruction as well. He would very gladly tear this universe apart if it meant his beloved was well. At the very least, destroy these false gods as well; if they had to fade, then they could too!

Hypaea wrapped her arms around him again. “You can't destroy the universe, Azurai. We've worked too hard on it for everything to be destroyed now,” she placated him.

He forced the destruction back down. “What good is this universe if you're not in it to make it complete?” he lamented.

She hugged him tighter. “Please don't leave me,” she pleaded.

“I'd never leave you,” Azurai murmured. “Even after we fade, our souls will hopefully live on. I don't care how many times I have to be reborn; I _will_ find you again, you _will_ return to me, no matter the circumstances. And when I do find you, I'll never let you out of my arms again. We'll shape this universe again, someday.”

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “Just one last kiss?”

“But of course.” Their lips met one last time as their bodies continued to fade into nothing. If this universe had any love for its creators, it would grant them new lives where they could love each other again at the very least. It was fitting, that his goddess' lips were the last thing he felt as he faded. The tingle of her kiss lingered in his mind and soul as he started losing all coherent thought.

.

.

.

* * *

.

.

.

Firepaw scanned his surroundings. He was supposed to be hunting, but he wanted to work with the powers he had known since he was born. It was strange, feeling as though he was apart of something bigger than his old kittypet life. Even joining Thunderclan hadn't eased the feeling of knowing he was... supposed to be elsewhere. He didn't know where he needed to be or why, but he just _knew_.

He caressed a flower in his paw, and with a thought, the flower was suddenly back in its prime, the petals enlarging and recoloring themselves a vibrant color.

He didn't know why he had such power, but he didn't feel like questioning it. It felt _right_.

“Ha! Look at him, sniffing the flowers like that!” He stiffened and quickly turned around to see Dustpaw and Sandpaw standing there, prey hanging from their jaws. Dustpaw put his mouse down and sneered at him. “Looking at the pretty flowers doesn't catch any prey. Wait til Bluestar hears about your lack of prey because you wanted to act like a kittypet!” he laughed.

Wordlessly, Firepaw dug into a soft patch of earth, revealing the prey he had caught earlier. Dustpaw continued to sneer at him though. “So you've caught a measly mouse. Not exactly an accomplishment. Oh wait, it must be such a huge achievement for a kittypet like yourself!”

“Look, I've still got time to catch something else. If you have nothing else to say, then you can leave me alone,” Firepaw meowed, an uncharacteristic glare on his face.

“Tch, whatever. Who would want to hang around with a kittypet anyway? Let's go Sandpaw.” He picked up his mouse and stalked off towards camp.

“Yeah you go on ahead. I'll catch up with you,” she called out to Dustpaw. She turned her gaze onto Firepaw, and he felt as if she was searching for something on him he wasn't aware of. He flicked his tail, wondering why she was staring at him for such an extended period of time.

“Uh, do I have something on my face?” he asked warily.

“How long?” she suddenly asked him. He blinked in surprise, not sure what she was asking, and tilted his head in visible confusion. “The flower. The powers. How long have you been able to do that?”

Firepaw visibly flinched. “I'm not sure what you mean about having powers. I was just admiring the pretty flower?” he said, though he inwardly cringed as it came out more like a question.

“I know what I saw mouse-brain. You pretty much brought it back to life.” She put her piece of prey down and padded up to his side. Firepaw could feel his muscles involuntarily tense up, wondering if she was going to verbally assault him like every other encounter he had with the sand-colored she-cat. “How long?”

“Wha- what does it matter?” he stuttered. He watched as she looked around for something, and she walked over to another flower and placed her paw under it. His eyes widened as the flower regained life before his eyes. Sandpaw had the same powers he had?!

“You- you have the same powers as I have...”

“I've had them since I was born,” she shrugged.

“You too?” he murmured. Why did they both have the same kind of powers?

“I mean... I thought I was the only one. Until you came along that is,” she meowed.

“Do you know why we both have these powers?” he inquired. Surely them having these powers meant something!

“I don't know; I never asked why. I just know it feels right,” she said uncaring. She walked away from the revitalized flower, moving to pick up her prey again. Firepaw felt frustration well up in him. Shouldn't they be figuring this out together? Learn to control their powers together?

“Why do you hate me so much?” he muttered. She stiffened, and turned back to face him.

“I don't hate you,” she said lowly. “You're just... so ignorant of how the clan works. You'll never fit in.”

“I'm learning! I'm trying my hardest to fit in, but you won't give me a chance!” He almost wailed at the thought- there would always be cats who doubted his place within Thunderclan. He wanted to be fully accepted by these cats one day, but it seemed like he was making slow progress in getting cats to accept him. The flower next to him wilted at the sorrowful waves he was emitting.

Sandpaw examined her surroundings with alarm as the foliage began to die. “Hey, stop that! Can't you see you're killing everything!” she yowled. She tried using her powers to counteract the destruction, but nothing she did worked. Firepaw was killing everything faster than she could revive them. Her thoughts raced wildly, trying to come up with a solution of how to fix this and calm the ginger apprentice down. So she did the only thing that came to mind: she tackled him.

Firepaw felt the air leave his chest as she tackled him into the ground, but that wasn't what he focused on. He was much more invested in the tingling feeling that spread across him as she touched him. Likewise, Sandpaw too felt her fur tingle as her pelt brushed against Firepaw's. Neither one of them noticed that the plants around them stopped dying, and began blooming with vibrant life instead, turning to face them like they were happily greeting them.

Firepaw drew in a deep breath. “Who- who are you?” he breathed out. “Why do I feel like I know you?” There was a nagging feeling in his mind that he should know Sandpaw from somewhere, but he couldn't place his paw on where.

“I should be asking you that!” she exclaimed. She wanted to tear into him for losing control like that, but the tingling felt so pleasant right now; she just wanted to revel in his touch, and she was almost disgusted that she wanted to stay in their current position. But the feeling and the sheer content that flooded her mind sent the disgust away. She knew this tom from somewhere, but from where?

Firepaw was almost uncomfortable at how fast his heart was beating- but it was beating in an almost good way. He was confused at the burst of love he felt for this she-cat. He hardly knew her, and she made it clear that she disliked him, so why was he feeling this way? He winced as his head starting throbbing. He _knew_ her! Why couldn't he remember?

Imagines flashed through his mind; endless stars and nebulas swimming in his memories. Something that looked like a Twoleg, but he knew that this Twoleg was the most beautiful being he ever laid eyes on. He was so lucky to be her mate!

Sandpaw could only remember a figure dancing within an endless sea of stars. He was the most majestic being she ever saw. His eyes were all on her; his attention was _only_ for her. He made her feel so loved.

A name came to mind in Firepaw's head. “I- I'm-” He gazed up at the she-cat that was still on him, her gaze blank and lost in thought. “My Hypaea...”

She looked down on him, recognition in her eyes as he said the name that she knew was _right_. But she also knew the name he should have as well. “My Azurai...” She laid down on him, the two getting lost in each other's eyes. Firepaw slowly wrapped his paws around Sandpaw and pulled her closer, and she didn't object.

“You've returned to me, just like I said,” he whispered. He could feel this planet's aura closing in on them, welcoming its creators back into existence. He couldn't have cared less about this world. All that mattered was that his goddess was with him again.

“The clan will wonder where we've both gone,” Sandpaw whispered. In truth, she couldn't care less about what the clan thought; she just wanted to stay with her god.

“Who cares about them?” he retorted.

“We can see each other tonight. But we still need to keep up appearances, at least until we can ascend once more,” she said. He liked the sound of being together with his mate all night long, laying with each other within the Earth's embrace, their presences and touch being the other thing they needed. They only needed to play along with this clan until their powers fully returned to them. He gave her a cheek a lick, and she purred at the tingle as the tongue drew over her.

“Hey Sandpaw! What's taking so long!” Dustpaw's voice suddenly chimed from beyond the trees. The two apprentices gave disappointed sighs, and Sandpaw reluctantly got off Firepaw. She picked up her prey and trotted through the foliage to meet with Dustpaw. Firepaw watched her go, nature around him popping up with vibrancy as waves of creation energy flowed off him.

There were still memories pouring into his head as he dug up his prey and carried it back to camp. In the long run, this clan would mean nothing. There was nothing these cats could do to him. Soon enough he would return to his old form and continue shaping the universe with his beloved.

' _I won't let anything separate us like that ever again_.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing like some FireSand to warm up the soul.
> 
> Who are Hypaea and Azurai? They're no one in real life or mythology. I just made them up. They formed before the universe began and shaped it to their liking- hence their titles as Gods of Creation and Destruction since they go hand in hand. Eventually people came up with own ideas of who created the universe and through sheer belief, other gods formed. Since no one remembered the two and their power was being siphoned off them by the false gods, Hypaea and Azurai faded. The universe they created granted them new life and allowed them to reincarnate in order to recover their powers back. 
> 
> Who knows how many rebirths the two went through before finding each other as Firestar and Sandstorm? That's up to the readers.
> 
> Where did I get the names Hypaea and Azurai? Brave Frontier. No relation to the actual units, I just took the names cause I liked them enough, and because I couldn't come up with something good. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	12. Berserker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fireheart meets Brokenstar and his rogues in battle, and the Berserker comes out to play...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't update anything yesterday because I was way too tired from classes. But yesterday was my chance to write something and I really didn't know what to write for Ignite. As I said before, the inbetween stuff is hard and I'm not sure how to go further. It wasn't just writer's block either, it was the fear that I wouldn't have enough to write a decent length chapter. Also pacing- because I don't want stuff to happen too fast. Why introduce new characters only to say goodbye to them two chapters later? Sooo I guess I have problems?
> 
> Anyway, this idea came to mind and I decided to go for it. It's nice writing something new when I've been focusing so much on Ignite most of the time. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Fireheart lamented his luck as Brokenstar's rogues rushed into the camp. He knew Yellowfang, Sandpaw, Dustpaw, and the queens were capable fighters, but as it was, he was the only warrior in the camp at the moment. He had sent Brackenpaw out in order to bring back the patrols sent to attack Shadowclan, but who knows what would happen between now and the time all the warriors came back?

He wondered if Tigerclaw knew about this particular attack on Thunderclan- he _had_ tried to lure Bluestar onto the Thunderpath before. Instead his apprentice, Cinderpaw got caught in his trap instead. Maybe Tigerlcaw was hoping for Bluestar to come back early and get caught by surprise- and then be killed. Or maybe Tigerclaw hoped for Fireheart to perish here as well.

He rolled out of the way of a rogue that lunged at him and Fireheart leaped onto the rogue's back, biting him harshly. The cat yowled and shook him off, rushing off to the gorse tunnel that led out of the camp.

Fireheart ran straight for Brokenstar and grasped him with his claws. Brokenstar snarled and tried twisting his body around to sink his teeth into Fireheart's leg, but the ginger warrior kept up his grip. He felt a rush of satisfaction at the former Shadowclan leader's sorry state. Perhaps it was a testament to Brokenstar's lack of skills as a warrior as the rogue clearly wasn't eating right. Fireheart could feel Brokenstar's ribs through his fur, and he was noticeably weaker as well.

Fireheart felt himself being pulled from the bony warrior, who struggled to free himself from Fireheart's grip. Fireheart hissed and tried lunging forward again, but felt claws grasp at his hind legs. He glanced behind him to see brown fur, and instantly recognized Clawface's scent. This was the cat who killed Spottedleaf in cold blood. The cat who killed their only medicine cat so he had no interference in stealing Thunderclan's kits.

Rage and hatred filled his head and he turned around calmly to slowly stalk up to Clawface, whose eyes widened in terror and was stumbling backwards. He didn't care about Brokenstar anymore. He just wanted to rip this cat limb from limb!

“No-no! Stay back! Not again! Stay back!” Clawface screeched in fear. Fireheart lunged at him and easily pinned him down.

“You want mercy?” Fireheart purred. “Wonder where yours was when Spottedleaf pleaded the same?” Ah, no more small talk! He wanted to fight! He laughed darkly as his claws easily tore into Clawface, the rogue pleading and screeching for mercy. His wails of pain were music to his ears.

“Fireheart! What are you doing?!” he heard someone screech as they tried pulling him off Clawface. He hissed in rage and swatted whoever was trying to pull him. The cat yowled in pain and stumbled backwards. He turned back to Clawface, who was barely responsive at this point, and ended his life with a killing bite.

His eyes trailed lazily over to the rest of the battle, noting that everything was in shades of red and black. Cats were watching him warily; was it because he killed Clawface? Why did they care- he was doing these cats a favor by getting rid of the rogue. Spottedleaf had been avenged!

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed someone trying to approach him, and he turned to growl at them.

“Fireheart? Calm down, the battle is over,” Bluestar tried placating him. But the tom only looked like he was going to lunge at her next. “Fireheart, stand down! That's an order!”

He squinted, trying to distinguish who was talking to him, but he couldn't see anything other than a black shape outlined in red speaking to him. It didn't matter; this one would be the next to feel his rage. He snarled at her, body crouched down, ready to spring at her. Bluestar stepped back in shock; Fireheart never acted like this!

Whitestorm worriedly nudged Tigerclaw. “I don't remember Fireheart's eyes being red before...” The tabby lashed his tail, silently agreeing with him.

Fireheart hated the silence. He didn't want peace- he wanted to fight! He wanted blood! He launched himself at Bluestar, who was forced to dodge his attack lest she meet his claws. Fireheart was getting more and more frustrated as the she-cat refused to fight him as he kept lunging at her. It wasn't just her- no one was stepping up to fight him!

“Coward! Why won't you fight me?!” he yowled. His anger reached a new height, and Bluestar, as well as the rest of Thunderclan, stepped back in shock and fear as a black aura emerged from Fireheart's body, cloaking him in darkness. It made his red eyes stand out even more.

“This needs to stop,” Tigerlcaw whispered to Whitestorm, nervousness dancing in his eyes. The white tom nodded, and the two launched themselves at Fireheart, using their combined strength to pin him down. Even with the two senior warriors combined, they were still struggling to keep Fireheart still. “How strong is he?!” Tigerclaw yowled.

Bluestar rushed up to join them, joining them in pinning Fireheart down. She was surprised at the ferocity of Fireheart's struggles, and she was having just a hard of time trying to keep him pinned. “Fireheart, you need to calm down! The battle is over! Stop!”

“Can he not hear us?” Graystripe meowed worriedly. His friend was acting like he was possessed!

“Fireheart, ENOUGH!” Bluestar yelled. Fireheart froze, his head twitching every other moment, the bloodlust leaving his mind. The aura surrounding him died down, sucking itself back into his body. The red and black shades were fading, gradually being replaced by color. He blinked, and his eyes wandered up to the three cats pinning him down in confusion. They were looking down at him with relief, but also fear. What had he done to make Tigerclaw of all cats fear him?

“Are you okay Fireheart?” Bluestar meowed in concern.

“Shouldn't you be asking _us_ that?” Tigerclaw grumbled as the tabby and Whitestorm got off the ginger warrior. Fireheart didn't answer, his head feeling foggy.

“Come on, let's get you to Yellowfang,” Bluestar murmured. He allowed her to guide him to his paws and lead him into the medicine den.

“I... saw Clawface and... felt this... _rage_ and I...can't remember...” he trailed off. She only licked his head in response. He looked up at her, dull shock clouding his eyes. “What did I do?” he whispered brokenly. Bluestar was silent, not sure how to answer him.

“It doesn't matter right now.”

Tigerclaw turned to face the shell-shocked clan. “Has anyone seen Fireheart act like that before?” The ginger warrior was a problem now. Not just in that Fireheart could potentially take on Tigerclaw and win, disrupting his plans to become leader, but also because Fireheart was clearly willing to turn on his fellow clanmates so easily. He was a dangerous liability. What even was that aura surrounding the ginger tom?

“I heard Clawface pleading for him to stop. And something about 'it' happening again,” Graystripe meowed.

“You don't think Fireheart attacked Clawface during the battle within Shadowclan the same way do you?” Whitestorm asked.

“I mean... it's possible. He _did_ disappear on us during all the fighting,” the gray warrior reported.

“But- I _stopped_ him. I pulled him off Clawface before he could do something he would regret,” Whitestorm whispered. Clawface _did_ look incredibly beat up when he pulled the then apprentice off the warrior...

“Clearly not in time enough to prevent... whatever that was from taking hold,” Tigerclaw rumbled, disturbed. “Were his eyes red back then too?”

Whitestorm looked thoughtful. “I can't remember,” he said.

Around them, the clan chattered to themselves worriedly. Graystripe looked disturbed and concerned, and Sandpaw only gazed into the medicine den, an unreadable look on her face.

“What was that? What was that blackness?” she whispered. Graystripe and Dustpaw, both next to her, flicked their ears. They clearly didn't know Fireheart at all, despite the time he spent within Thunderclan.

' _What was wrong with him? What's happening to my best friend?'_ Graystripe's thoughts ran wild. He wished he knew how to help Fireheart. He followed Sandpaw's gaze into the medicine den.

' _I have to help him get over this. Even if I get maimed in the process._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So was Fireheart actually possessed, did a split personality take over, or was he so angry that his bloodlust and anger gave way to something else? HHhhMMmm
> 
> In his Berserker state, Fireheart can't distinguish who is friend or foe. In this case, everyone is a foe he(or the Berserker) wants to fight. It only activates when he gets truly mad, and Clawface would be one of those anger triggers. So it's downright scary to be near Fire when he's like that, because he hardly gets truly angry. What happens when that black aura starts coming out and is allowed to fester? Who knows- I'll let the readers decide that one. I'd like to imagine that his strength gets multiplied at that point. Maybe other things start happening to his body...
> 
> Maybe this is genetic too? Lionblaze would be a good fit tbh. 
> 
> I have another idea where Fireheart awakens some sort of power during the Brokenstar/rogues battle. Just an idea though- nothing concrete.
> 
> Part of me really wants to write something time travel related- where maybe Ignite!Firestar or Mercat!Firestar and co. travel back in time when Fireheart is a young warrior or something. HhhhHHMMmmmMM IdEaS
> 
> Hopefully I'll have something figured out for Ignite tonight. Or maybe not, cause my classes will probably give me another headache tonight. We'll see. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	13. A Twist in Time: Ignite Divergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some cats end up in a place and time they shouldn't be in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time travel fic no one asked for, yet I really wanted to write. Wish all the time travel Warrior Fic author sempais would notice me now. 
> 
> This isn't just a time travel AU, this also runs in tandem with Ignite, and if you're one of the people who reads the AU Dump, but not Ignite, then maybeee you should go and check it out so you're not completely lost on what's going on. 
> 
> But I've been having trouble coming up with what to write next for Ignite, so I figured writing something else would be relaxing- and it was. This is over 7 pages long?! Geez I really had fun with this one. 
> 
> I'm hesitant to ask for ideas again, because some people kind of called me out regarding that... and stupid me feels obligated to finish what I've started, so I feel the need to write something every night. 
> 
> Anyway... time travel senpais please notice me. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

Brambleclaw's head felt fuzzy- like something was pounding mercilessly on the inside of his head. He fought to open up his eyes, hissing as the light blinded him. He shakily got up to his paws, trying to regain his bearings. What had happened to him? A groan next to him alerted him to Squirrelflight laying on her side, also trying to open her eyes.

“Brambleclaw? What happened?” she groaned as she got up to her paws.

“I can't remember,” he said. Everything was fuzzy, and his head was still pounding. “Does your head also feel like it's going to shatter?” She only grumbled in response, now aware of the pounding in her head. He remembered going hunting and then there was a bright flash of light, and the feeling of wings wrapping around him in an attempt to protect him...

“Firestar!” Squirrelflight perked her head up in alarm, also remembering her father had been with them at the moment of the bright flash of light. Brambleclaw opened his mouth to scent the air in hopes of scenting his leader, and recoiled as the leafy scent of Thunderclan hit in dead on. Except it didn't smell like the Thunderclan scent he was used to.

“Uh, Brambleclaw? Is it me, or does this look a lot like Thunderclan's old territory to you?” she questioned. He took a quick look around, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. They were in a place that looked like Thunderclan's old territory that was wreathed in Thunderclan's old scent. It smelled old, yet smelled very new and fresh. This shouldn't be possible.

“Right now, we need to find Firestar. Hopefully he won't be too far from us,” he meowed. She nodded, though swished her tail warily. She was right to be nervous and wary- they were on unfamiliar territory and there was no telling what could attack them here. Brambleclaw checked some nearby bushes, hoping to catch the scent of his leader.

“Found him!” Squirrelflight called out to him. He bounded over to her and caught her grimace. There was Firestar, laying on the ground, looking very injured. There were numerous cuts all over his pelt, some blood dripping onto his scales. One of his wings looked torn. He padded up closer and nosed his leader. First they had been dropped onto Thunderclan's old territory, and now his leader was injured. He didn't even think it was possible for Firestar to get injured the way he was now. Had Firestar taken the brunt of whatever had happened to them in his attempt to shield Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight?

“Firestar? Please wake up.” He nudged the scaled-cat, and his attention was taken away by the red glow of the stone that was implanted into his chest. He glared at it, knowing it was this thing's fault that his leader was currently the way he was now. The thing was glowing and pulsing again. Firestar gave a quiet groan as his eyelid fluttered open, and Brambleclaw grimaced as Firestar's eyes flickered from green to red and then to green again. The last thing they needed was for Firestar to regress to his feral state.

“Are you okay Father?” Squirrelflight meowed in concern, nosing her father to his paws. Firestar let her guide him up, and his legs buckled, Squirrelflight rushing to steady her father. The leader shook his head, trying to get rid of the fuzziness clouding it. He pulled his torn wing to his side, hissing in pain as he did so.

“What happened?” he murmured quietly.

“Honestly? We were hoping you would know. All we remember is some bright light and-”

“I tried protecting you both,” he finished his daughter's line of thought. He let out a small hiss and brought a claw up to his chest, where the stone was visibly pulsing.

“What's it doing to you now?” Brambleclaw asked.

“Don't know. It feels angry. Doesn't feel good,” he panted. His head suddenly snapped to a random direction. “There are a lot of cats approaching,” he whispered.

Brambleclaw cursed under his breath. “We need to get you out of here.” They didn't know how many cats were coming at them, and they had no idea how they would react to Firestar. For all they know, they would take one look at the transformed cat and attack him; and with Firestar injured, it was a possibility that the tom wouldn't be able to defend himself. He didn't look particularly steady on his paws at the moment.

Squirrelflight's ears pricked, now able to hear the thundering of paws heading their way. “It's too late to move him; we're just going to have to stand our ground and get ready to run if necessary,” she hissed, getting into a defensive position. Firestar tried getting into an attacking position, but a paw from Brambleclaw forced him down.

“You're injured. Just be ready to run on our signal,” he hissed into the leader's ear. Anger filled Firestar at the thought of leaving his hatchlings behind.

“Absolutely not. It's my job to protect you,” Firestar retorted.

“Just let us protect you for a change!” Brambleclaw pleaded.

“Not to barge in here, but there's an oncoming patrol coming our way!” Squirrelflight snapped. Brambleclaw snapped to attention and rushed to her side. Firestar tried ignoring the sting of his injuries(and he still didn't know how he got them!) and slid into a pounce. The stone was still pulsing angrily and sending waves of heat through him. He glanced down at it, wondering what was going on with it today.

The thundering of the paws got even louder, and all of their muscles tensed up in anticipation. A dark shape leaped out from the bushes and Brambleclaw launched himself forward to meet them.

“Intruders! Get off Thunderclan territory!” Firestar narrowed his eyes at the familiar voice. A patrol of Thunderclan cats he knew in the past burst out of the foliage. His eyes scanned the cats in front of him: Darkstripe, Longtail, Runningwind, and with a pang of melancholy, Whitestorm. They all stopped in their tracks at the sight of him, eyes examining his scales, wings, and claws. Darkstripe regained his bearings first, and launched himself at Firestar.

Squirrelflight hissed as she intercepted the tabby's attack, the two grappling on the forest floor. Firestar wanted to spring to his paws and help his daughter, when the stone decided that it was a fantastic time to send out another painful wave of heat, and he let out a pain-filled hiss.

Whitestorm frowned at the sight of the tom wincing in pain, and noticed all the scratches on his pelt. He waved his tail at the patrol, signaling for them to stop.

“But Whitestorm-!” Longtail tried protesting.

“I don't think we need to fight,” he stated plainly. “He's hurt,” he gestured to the multiple-winged ginger tom. Firestar could almost sigh in relief at Whitestorm's words. He wasn't exactly good to fight... until Brambleclaw let out a pain-filled yowl when the tabby he was battling clawed him in the shoulder, and Firestar saw red. The stone pulsed in tune with his anger; someone was hurting his hatchling!

Squirrelfight growled in Darkstripe's face as she managed to pin him down. An angry growl tore her attention away from Darkstripe and her head snapped over to her father, whose eyes had gone red and was angrily growling at the warrior attacking Brambleclaw. She cursed under her breath. “Brambleclaw, he's gone feral!” she shouted to the tom.

“Mouse-dung!” Brambleclaw muttered. Firestar launched himself onto the tabby and ripped him off of Brambleclaw, attempting to slash the warrior with his tail. He watched as Firestar and the cat he knew was his father attack each other relentlessly.

“Who are you three?” Whitestorm demanded at Squirrelflight.

“Not the time! I've got to calm him down!” she rushed. “STOP!” she shouted at the two fighting cats. Whitestorm narrowed his eyes, but called out to his clanmate anyway.

“Tigerclaw, stop this now!”

Tigerclaw bounded back over to Whitestorm, anger in his eyes. “You want me to stop?! They're all intruders! We need to chase them out of our territory!”

Brambleclaw was at Firestar's side in an instant, blocking him from advancing onto Tigerclaw. “It's okay! I'm fine see? Just calm down,” he murmured to the feral leader. Firestar cast one final glare onto Tigerclaw, before turning his attention onto Brambleclaw and drawing his tongue over the tabby's injuries. He let out a relived sigh, but felt a twinge of annoyance as Firestar was once again more worried about Brambleclaw than he was about himself.

Squirrelflight glared at Tigerclaw, who looked as he was about to lunge at the two again. “You attack him, and he'll more than likely set the forest on fire! Do you want that?!”

Tigerclaw scoffed. “Set the forest on fire? He may have a strange appearance, but I doubt he can set anything on fire!” Whitestorm laid his tail on Tigerclaw's shoulder, shaking his head.

“Who are you three and why are you on Thunderclan territory?”

Squirrelflight shifted on her paws uncomfortably. “Uh- well... that's kind of complicated,” she said awkwardly.

Whitestorm raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do tell,” he drawled.

“Well... would you believe me when I say that we're probably from the future?”

“Squirrelflight!” Brambleclaw hissed. “You don't just go around saying stuff like that!” he growled. She turned her head to glare at him.

“Well what am I supposed to say? I'm supposed to lie and say we're passing through the territory?” she asked sarcastically. Brambleclaw looked down, not sure how to refute her.

“I don't know? Maybe? How about not telling them something that sounds ridiculous right off the bat?” he hissed. The Thunderclan warriors watched their exchanged with confused amusement.

“So _are_ you from the future?” Longtail chimed in, confused.

“Well out of everyone here, I only know you. But you died a while back,” Squirrelflight commented nonchalantly. Longtail flinched, thinking of all the ways he could have died.

“Mouse-brain, you don't actually believe them!” Darkstripe snarled at Longtail. “This is ridiculous! Let's chase them off and be done with it!” He stepped forward threateningly towards Squirrelflight, and Firestar turned his attention away from Brambleclaw to growl at him.

“You're only going to set him off again,” Brambleclaw muttered. He circled Firestar to get his attention, the leader's eyes trailing after him. “It's okay. Everything is fine. Just... calm down,” he murmured to the leader.

“What is he doing?” Runningwind asked.

“Calming him down. The red eyes and feral-ness will go away when he's relaxed,” Squirrelflight answered. They watched as Firestar closed his eyes and twitched a little, before they opened back up to reveal his forest green eyes. He scanned the Thunderclan warriors warily, especially Tigerclaw.

“Ah, what did I do this time?” he asked Brambleclaw in a low voice.

“Honestly? Compared to what's happened lately, you were pretty tame this time around,” Brambleclaw shrugged. Firestar figured it meant that he didn't try to threaten anyone with fire, and that was a huge improvement considering everything that's happened lately.

“Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight,” Whitestorm tested the names on his tongue, while studying the ginger cat in front of him. He looked very much like Fireheart, but it couldn't be him- this cat was much bigger than Fireheart would ever grow to be. Perhaps a descendant? He turned to Brambleclaw. “If you really are from the future... what is your relation to Tigerclaw here?” He gestured to the tabby, who was examining his look-alike and the scaled-cat with interest. His ears pricked up at Whitestorm's words, also wanting to know if this cat was who he thought he was.

Brambleclaw stiffened, eyeing his father and then subtly glancing at Firestar. He remembered that Firestar saw Brambleclaw as his own, and he wondered how he would react if he acknowledged that he was indeed Tigerclaw's son. Would Firestar fly into a protective rage in a weird way of claiming him? “He's my blood father,” he said carefully. He claimed Tigerclaw as his sire, but the tyrant lost the right to call himself Brambleclaw's father ages ago. If anything, Firestar was more of a father than Tigerstar could ever be. Tigerclaw's eyes lit up in interest at his words.

Firestar felt a twinge of sadness and anger, a feeling shared by the stone as it sent out a hot pulse across his body. Did his hatchling not love him? He masked his sadness with neutrality, hoping that his eyes wouldn't give away his emotions. He was always terrible at hiding his true feelings.

Whitestorm stood lost in thought. “Perhaps we should bring them to Bluestar,” he murmured to Tigerclaw. The tabby gave him a nod.

“You're joking,” Darkstripe growled. “You can't actually be believing this!”

“Whether it's true or not, we should take them to Bluestar anyway. Besides,” Tigerclaw lowered his voice for only Darkstripe and Longtail to hear, “think of everything we can learn of what happens in the future. And especially how a cat manages to grow wings and scales like him,” he gestured to the winged cat in question. Darkstripe still looked skeptical, but nodded his head regardless. The deputy has spoken, and he must obey.

They weren't aware that Tigerclaw's word were easily picked up by Firestar's enhanced hearing.

“Come with us,” Tigerclaw ordered, and with a flick of his tail, lead the patrol back to camp. The three time-travelers looked appalled at following any order Tigerclaw commanded.

“Should we?” Squirrelflight quietly asked her father.

“It's the best option we have for getting our injuries checked out,” he meowed. Brambleclaw winced, just then remembering that his shoulder injury still stung. Firestar gave a short flick of his tail and began following after the patrol. “It would be nice to see the old territory again,” he said wistfully.

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* * *

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“Come on, wake up! You're not going to sleep away the whole day away are you?” Fireheart blearily opened his eyes to give Graystripe a half-hearted glare.

“Like you're one to talk,” he yawned. Graystripe gave a mock offended gasp.

“I'm not that bad!”

“Sure, you only eat half of the fresh-kill pile,” he snickered. He got up and shook little pieces of moss off his pelt. Just a few sunrises ago, he would have been sleeping in the apprentices' den. It was still surreal to him that he managed to make it this far and become a warrior.

“Come on, we have to make it look like we haven't been sleeping in before the dawn patrol comes back,” Graystripe said before bounding out of the warriors' den. Fireheart was hot on his heels, not wanting to give Tigerclaw a reason to yell at them when he returned from his patrol. He stretched out his body as soon as he was out, trying to remove the stiffness in his legs. A yowl startled him out of his stretching, and he recognized Tigerclaw's yowl as the signal for bringing visitors to camp. Though, Tigerclaw's definition of visitors was more akin to intruders and prisoners.

“Quick, act natural,” Graystripe quickly whispered at him. All of his tiredness was sapped out of him; he was more interested in what the dawn patrol had to report. Around them, cats also stopped what they were doing and stared at the gorse tunnel. Tigerclaw came through first, along with his patrol.

Then came the intruders. He blinked at the dark tabby with amber eyes, almost like he was Tigerclaw's carbon copy. He was favoring his shoulder, which had a nasty cut on it. There was a dark-ginger she-cat with a white paw and green eyes that might have passed as one of his own kin. But his attention was taken by the ginger tom inbetween the two. Next to him, Graystripe's jaw hung open at the appearance of the last cat, and Fireheart couldn't blame him for the reaction. The cat's legs were covered in black scales, his claws and tail looked sharp and deadly, like they could cut a cat open with ease, horns and black fins replacing his ears, he had honest to Starclan _wings_ , and to top it all off, the cat was massive. Like just as big as Tigerclaw but almost slightly bigger and taller.

“How does that happen to a cat? Was he born like that?” Graystripe muttered to himself.

Bluestar padded out of her den, eyes scanning the three visitors. Her gaze lingered on the scaled and winged cat before ripping her eyes away to turn to Tigerclaw. “Who are these cats Tigerclaw?”

He glanced at the three before staring her straight in the eye. “These cats appeared within the territory while we were marking the borders. They claim to be from the future,” he reported coolly. She blinked in surprise, but otherwise didn't lose her composure. Around them, cats chattered to each other in confusion.

“Can they prove this claim?” Bluestar said, but it came out as more of an order as her gaze was once again on the three apparent time-travelers.

The ginger she-cat shrugged. “Well, I mean...” she scanned the cats around her. “Longtail and Mousefur are elders in our time- well actually, it's just Mousefur now that Longtail's dead.” Cue flinch from Longtail. “I recognize Goldenflower, and Frostfur and Speckletail I haven't seen in a while,” she rambled on. Her eyes finally landed on the apprentices. “There's Dustpelt and Sandstorm.” There was a happy light in her eyes as she looked at the sandy she-cat.

Fireheart noticed the ginger-tom glance at Sandpaw, who was elated, yet skeptical of hearing her warrior name. Was it him, or did he see love in his eyes when he gazed at the she-cat?

“And there's Graystripe, and-” she looked startled as she stared at Fireheart. The Tigerclaw look-alike also stared at him with wide eyes. “There's... Father,” Father?! This was his daughter? Graystripe sputtered next to him, choking on air.

“You're that kittypet's daughter?” Darkstripe hissed angrily. He had been beaten by the kittypet's spawn!

“Don't call him a kittypet!” she hissed back at him. The tabby whispered something in her ear, and she hesitantly backed down.

“So you claim to be Fireheart's daughter from the future?” Bluestar asked carefully.

“Apparently the tabby is Tigerclaw's son as well,” Runningwind snickered. Firehearts eyes trailed from his daughter to the tabby. Well, that explained a lot. Tigerclaw was only a little bit bigger than his son, but the two looked identical.

Bluestar flicked an ear. “Fireheart's daughter, and Tigerclaw's son... What are your names?”

“I'm Squirrelflight,” she said cheerfully. The name buried itself into his head. His daughter's name was Squirrelflight. “And this grouchy furball here is Brambleclaw!” Said furball looked as though he wanted to cuff her on the ear.

Bluestar turned her attention to the final cat. “And you? I don't think I've ever seen a cat with your features before.”

He held up her gaze steadily. “No, I suppose you wouldn't...” he murmured. Fireheart's ears twitched at the voice. He sounded familiar, but he couldn't place a paw on it.

“You already know who I am,” he said cryptically. Bluestar stared at him, trying to figure out who he was. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight subtly shifted closer to the ginger-tom, as if trying to protect him. Fireheart didn't know why he would need protecting; he looked as if he could fight the entire clan and win.

Bluestar finally sighed in defeat. “I'm sorry, but I really don't know who you are.”

“I suppose I would look different if I didn't have all the scales and wings,” his eyes shifted to Fireheart, “and maybe if I were smaller...”

No. The ginger-fur, the same green eyes, _his_ voice, but older. Fireheart's world shattered.

Bluestar recoiled in surprise, getting where he was coming from. “Fireheart?” she asked incredulously. Tigerclaw's head snapped over to the winged- tom, horrified that he had been getting bested in battle by the kittypet of all cats! He had been _admiring_ this cat for his strength- had been _envious_ at the wings, scales, and strength he had!

“Well, once upon a time I was called that, but yes.” Once? What was he called in the future? He hadn't been kicked out of the clan had he? He was still clearly in the clan if he was hanging around other clan cats, one of which was his daughter!

“How-? What has happened to you?” Bluestar whispered.

“We're not here to spoil the future, we just need to get back to our own time,” Brambleclaw intervened swiftly.

“There are some things... I'd rather not say in front of the clan,” his future self said.

Bluestar stared at him for a few moments. “Alright, we will talk in my den. Tigerclaw?” She gestured for the deputy to come with her.

“Not him,” his future self meowed. “I'd much rather speak to you alone,” he said, casting Tigerclaw a loathing look. Tigerclaw gave him an equally hateful stare, now knowing who this cat really was. Tigerclaw must have done something really bad for Fireheart to hate him even more than he did now. Although, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised; Tigerclaw would do anything for power- he killed Redtail in hopes of becoming deputy!

“Father?” Squirrelflight asked hesitantly.

“You two stay out here,” he commanded.

“But what if you regress again?” Brambleclaw hissed fearfully.

“I doubt Bluestar will do anything to make me... do that again. Please stay out here,” he meowed softly. Fireheart watched his future self nod to Bluestar, and the she-cat lead him inside her den. Fireheart was still trying to process the words the future cats had said. What they mean by his future self regressing?

“What happens to you in the future for you to end up like that?” Graystripe whispered into his ear. The clan broke up, returning to whatever they were doing before the patrol returned, but more subdued than usual. Half of the clan were casting looks onto Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw, who stayed where they were, despite Brambleclaw's obvious injury, loyally waiting for Fireheart's future self to return. The other half were glancing at him, wondering how he would grow wings and scales.

“I wish I knew,” he murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firestar: So basically, I'm him *points to Fireheart* 
> 
> Thunderclan: *comparing the two* wOt
> 
> What? You all thought that Firestar was going to hide the fact that he's Fireheart's future self? Cats would have found out eventually. And they're already there, so it's not like they can prevent the timeline from being damaged already. Time travel is tricky stuff- they might have split the timeline by being there or maybe they actually will change their futures? Who knows, I haven't gotten that far.
> 
> The stone knows it's in the past, and it doesn't like it. It's a chance for someone to prevent Firestar from ever getting near the thing, and it wants Firestar back to present time so it has less of a chance of being separated from its host. All the while, it's trying to heal Firestar's injuries for him. 
> 
> So basically if you have questions about this short, please ask them or they'll never be answered :V
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	14. The Heavenly Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Three didn't get their powers because of a prophecy, rather it was because they were made to be the perfect vessels of the true Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah classes are starting to pick up. So I've got tons of homework now ;-; Also one of my teachers has literally taught us nothing pertaining to our homework but still expects us to complete it anyway. 
> 
> "BuT iT'S iN ThE BoOk" Most of the answers aren't in the book either. So I went on RateMyProfessor to see how hard this guy sucks and the general consensus is that this guy can't teach. Wonderful. 
> 
> So I'm stressed but I still wanted to write this because I got inspired by the Stars Against Us AU by skyyclan over on tumblr- which you should all check out even if the AU isn't fleshed out and there isn't much about it. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

Starclan was meant to be the final resting place of all the cats of the clans; a place for the good cats to rest after the troubles and sorrows of life. Whether a cat was an influential leader, a warrior doing the best for their clan, a medicine cat whose knowledge got the clan through tough times, an apprentice who tried their best to become a warrior, or even a kit who didn't get a chance at life, everyone was welcome here.

Those with ill intentions, those that plotted, those that clawed their way to the top by spilling blood were sent to the Dark Forest instead. Or because, they didn't agree with Starclan. Disagreeing with Starclan definitely wasn't allowed. They weren't welcome, they weren't missed, and they certainly weren't needed in Starclan's perfect society.

What cats didn't know was that Starclan wasn't just a resting place for fallen cats- it was also the domain of the Three. The Three were the cats who controlled the goings of Starclan. Anyone they didn't like were immediately sent to the Dark Forest. The cats they didn't like but still lived typically lived out terrible lives- because the Three willed it to be so.

A golden cat, shining brightly as the sun looked out over the territories of Starclan, watching the various cats divide cat into their clans. He chuckled a bit. “Look at all those fools. So scared of all of the murder-happy cats. The Dark Forest cats aren't the ones they should be worried about.”

A silvery tom, shining like the moon turned his head over at him. “Stop making fun of them; it's not their fault that they don't know how to fend for themselves,” he snickered.

The final cat, a white she-cat with small clouds circling around her rolled her eyes. “Let them squirm. It'll be easier to tighten our control over them,” she purred.

The Three were very intent on controlling Starclan, and all the starry cats had no idea who was really controlling them all along. A medicine cat broke the code by having kits? They insured that everything went _badly_ for the medicine cat, whether it be by taking the kits away, exile from the clan, or being sent to the Dark Forest- they insured that the medicine cat was punished. Two cats have a relationship even though they're from different clans? Death by childbirth sounded appropriate. Maybe the kits were lost. At the very least, they were punished. A cat trying to become leader by killing the current deputy and leader? The Three attempted to stop that nonsense before it took off.

Lately their control over the clans had slipped from them- and cats were free to do as they pleased. They were infuriated at the amount of cross-clan relationships, code breakers, and murderers. Their fury reached new heights as they were forced to watch Brokenstar and Tigerstar be made leaders. How had their influence lessened to the point where they couldn't even control Starclan, let alone the living world?

They needed absolute control over the clans. So a plan was made, to make sure no one would forget who was really in charge. All their experimentation with giving cats powers paid off in the end, and now they had their perfect vessels just waiting to be taken over by the Three.

The golden cat tapped the pool of sparkly water they were sitting in front of, one of the many viewing portals around Starclan. He grinned excitedly as another muscular, golden cat appeared in the water, talking with that reincarnation- Cinderheart was it? She didn't matter- he only had eyes for Lionblaze. With Lionblaze's powers, Sunfang would be near invincible. No one would stop the might of the sun beating down on them! All those that opposed him would be punished.

The silver cat tapped the pool next, revealing the blind, gray tabby medicine cat, sorting herbs while barking out commands to the paralyzed cat, Briarlight. With Jayfeather, Lunartail would be able to use his powers of dreams to enter the minds of every cat in the clans. No one would be able to hide anything from him ever again. Their secrets would be his to know- and those he didn't like could be sent straight to the Dark Forest.

The white she-cat tapped the pool, revealing the sleek, pale gray she-cat, currently fretting over her sister, the one who was currently spying on the Dark Forest. With Dovewing's powers at her command, Skyrunner would be able to see all and hear all. No one would be able to escape her sight- there would be nowhere to hide. Spying on the clans, and specific cats, would be a breeze.

It was getting easier to possess the living Three with every day that passed. Sunfang and Lunartail had taken over Lionblaze and Jayfeather numerous times, stopping them from chasing after Hollyleaf into the tunnels, stopping them from interfering with Squirrelflight's and Ashfur's fight. They influenced every bit of their vessel's lives without them knowing.

“Spying on the clans again?” a voice drawled. They turned to glare at the body of stars approaching them. Silverpelt wasn't exactly what one could call a cat; he had the body shape of one, but his body was mostly compromised of stars and constellations.

“We're about ready to take over our vessels. Soon the clans will fall under our control again. And there's nothing you can do to stop us,” Skyrunner hissed at Silverpelt.

Silverpelt let out a thoughtful hum. The Three knew that he wasn't exactly against them, but he wasn't with them either. No, Silverpelt had his own agenda- the clans were to be his and his alone, as it should be. He too had lost much power over the seasons, and was set on getting it all back, just like the three cats in front of him.

“Vessels huh?” He peered into the pool, gazing at the three chosen cats ready for the Three to inhabit.

“Shame you can't come with us too Silverpelt. But then again, you're always slow on the uptake aren't you?” Sunfang mocked. Silverpelt barked out a laugh, confusing the three cats.

“Oh, I already knew about your vessels long before you ever thought up of the idea to make them. I see all: past, present and future, remember?” They glared at him for the reminder- they knew perfectly well how powerful Silverpelt really was. Future vision was just one of his many talents. He strode forward, tapping the pool of water, and they stared in shock as the flame-colored leader of Thunderclan appeared within the pool, immediately understanding the implication of showing him in the first place.

“Marvelous isn't he? He doesn't need any powers for cats to follow his lead anywhere. With him and my powers combined, I'll be unstoppable. Much more powerful than your chosen vessels,” he rumbled. He knew long ago what his fellow gods were planning, so he figured he would beat them to it. He had created Firestar seasons ago as his own perfect vessel- one who would never lose faith in the stars.

“That's why you've been so lenient! You already had a vessel prepared seasons ago!” Lunartail snarled.

“Always one step ahead of us, aren't you?” Skyrunner muttered.

Silverpelt began walking away, disinterested in anything else they would have to say. They would only spit insults at him- and it wasn't as if they could keep any of their plans hidden from him. He was all-seeing, all-knowing.

“I wouldn't say one step... more like multiple steps ahead,” he laughed. Yes, he would definitely be winning this little game of theirs. Once he had total control of Firestar, he would rule over the living clans and Starclan, second to no one.

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* * *

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.

Firestar stared down at the defeated bodies of Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Dovewing. It was their bodies, but he knew their minds had been taken over by other cats. They had been pretty vocal about taking over the clans and had possessed the three right after he had defeated Tigerstar.

“What do we do about them now?” Brambleclaw asked beside him. The clan mingled around, tired from their fight against the Three. From the corner of his eye, Firestar could see Leafpool rushing and weaving her way through the throng of cats, trying her best to heal the wounds that Sunfang had inflicted onto them using Lionblaze's powers. He glanced mournfully over to Ivypool and Hollyleaf sitting nearby, their eyes blank and empty. He had no idea that Jayfeather's power could be used to attack the mind like that...He had to admit, the Three made a terrifying team. Sneak attacks had been made impossible by Skyrunner using Dovewing's powers, and Sunfang and Lunartail finished them off, whether physically or mentally.

“We have to keep them confined somewhere until we figure out how to get these spirits out of their bodies. Maybe I'll have to contact Starclan for help,” he murmured to the deputy. Brambleclaw nodded, sadness in his eyes as he gazed over at Lionblaze and Jayfeather. As Brambleclaw rounded up some warriors who weren't totally injured, Firestar watched from afar, lost in his own thoughts.

How was it that none of his warriors could do much against the Three, but he had been the one to take them down in the end? What made him so special? He could remember Jayfeather's face scrunched up in shock as Lunartail failed to attack his mind. Skyrunner had acted like her senses had been muddled whenever he tried sneaking around them to find another opening. He had felt a burst of strength as he grappled with Sunfang, who was trying so desperately to bring Lionblaze's fangs and claws down onto him.

“At least it's over for now,” he muttered to himself.

_Oh no, it's far from over little one._ Firestar's head snapped up and turned wildly, trying to identify the unknown voice. His eyes widened as he realized that no one was moving, Brambleclaw and the other warriors frozen where they stood. It was like time had froze for everyone but him.

_Skyrunner, Sunfang, and Lunartail may seem powerful, but in reality they are too hasty and not as clever as they think they are. What fools to announce their presences like that. Of course they weren't going to take over anything when they set everyone against them from the start. No subtlety whatsoever._

“Who are you?” Firestar called out.

_I am many things. But you clan cats usually refer to me as Silverpelt._ He was talking to _Silverpelt_? Firestar thought Silverpelt was just the expanse of stars in the night sky, not an actual cat!

_The Three thought they could win because they were within their perfect vessels. They thought they were unstoppable, and arrogance became their downfall. In addition... they never did think that I had it in me to interfere for once._

Firestar's eyes turned to pinpricks at his statement. “ _Your_ interference?”

_You think you bested the Three by yourself? No little one. Lunartail could not penetrate your mind because I protected it. Skyrunner could not sense you because I willed her not to. Sunfang couldn't best you because I gave you the strength to win._ A cloud of stardust swirled around in front of him, and it consolidated together to form the shape and outline of a cat. The cat- Silverpelt- titled his head at him. “Did you ever wonder why you are the Fourth?”

Firestar did wonder why he was called to be the Fourth, but he attributed it to Starclan needing him once again. “Because I'm apparently the only one that could defeat Tigerstar?” he said cynically. The starry cat chuckled a bit, shaking his head.

“Well, Starclan certainly thought so. But you're not the Fourth because the prophecy or Starclan needed to add in you at the last moment.” He turned his head to gaze at the Three. “They call themselves the Three... but in reality, this isn't true. There was always supposed to be Four. But because I was more powerful than them, they all but exiled me from the group,” he said, false hurt dripping in his voice. It was beginning to make Firestar feel uneasy. “Then we began losing power, and they just couldn't have that. Too bad they went about the vessel thing the wrong way.”

“What are you saying?” Firestar asked warily. Silverpelt turned his head back to gaze at the ginger leader, and Firestar felt as though the cat was seeing into Firestar's entire being.

“I knew long ago that they would create their vessels in order to regain their power. So I thought, why not make my own? It wasn't a terrible idea- if I played the game right, I would get my power back and continue to control the clans,” he said, stalking up to Firestar. The leader took a step back for every step Silverpelt took forward.

“I created you long ago to be the perfect body to house my soul. Now you will finally see some use,” he purred.

“I'm not some vessel for you to take over!” Firestar snarled.

“You don't understand do you? _I already have control_.” Firestar had heard enough, and was about lunge at Silverpelt, but his body suddenly stopped in its tracks. His paws wouldn't obey him! He was forced to watch Silverpelt break apart into a starry cloud, which drifted over to him and surrounded him. His body stiffened up as the cloud entered him through his pelt. He noted with alarm that it felt like something was pushing his awareness further into his head, and he was forced to do nothing but watch as his body moved on its own, back to where he originally stood before Silverpelt started advancing at him.

' _No...no! Get out of me!'_ he wailed uselessly in his head.

“Now, now, none of that. There's no need for us to fight,” his mouth moved, and Firestar knew it was Silverpelt that was talking. Was this how Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing felt when they had been taken over by Lunartail, Sunfang, and Skyrunner?

He felt a soft warmth wrap around him, and he was finding it harder and harder to stay awake to peer through his own eyes. What was happening to him?

“The others might not care about their vessels, but I do. I quite literally made you for me. Why wouldn't I love my own creation? You've done enough for these cats haven't you? You won't need to worry about anything ever again,” Silverpelt purred.

Truthfully, he was sick of completing all those prophecies. But he still had a duty to his family, friends, and kin! He felt Silverpelt turn his head to gaze upon Sandstorm.

' _Sandstorm..._ '

“In a way, you'll still be making her happy. For all she knows, Firestar is still her loving mate.” He looked out to all of Thunderclan. “Don't worry, I'll take care of them all.”

' _No..._ ' But Firestar couldn't stave off the feeling of drowsiness and sleep any longer. He could only hope that someone would figure out what Silverpelt had done and remove the spirit from his body.

Cats began moving again, Brambleclaw and his chosen warriors hauling the Three elsewhere, Leafpool continuing to treat the injured cats.

“Firestar? Are you alright?” Sandstorm meowed as she pressed her pelt onto his.

Silverpelt only smiled at her, feeling Firestar finally succumb to the forced sleep he sent his way. Now there wouldn't be any interference from the ginger leader's consciousness. “I think I'll be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunfang, Lunartail, and Skyrunner got a little too vocal and the clans didn't like that. So Silverpelt won without doing very much and he has control of Firestar as well. Unlike the Three, he won't be flaunting his possession of his vessel to the clans. 
> 
> So what happens next is up to the readers. Does Silverpelt win and Firestar never returns from the depths of his subconsciousness- do the clans find out and try to expel Silverpelt- does Silverpelt end up uniting all four clans into one- who knows? I haven't gotten that far. 
> 
> Silverpelt lost a lot of power like the Three did, but he's still much more powerful than them. Underestimating him is a mistake. He probably just got a ton back by being in Firestar's body. 
> 
> I'd love to work on Ignite soon, but..uh... homework ;-; stress stress stress stress
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	15. Halloween Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A traveling witch encounters a clan full of cats that know nothing about Halloween! She intends to fix that blasphemy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween chapter special whatever that I desperately wanted to write! This is almost 7 pages long? I had fun with this one. :)
> 
> Please read?: There's been a lot of hate going around in the Warriors Fandom regarding Bramblestar lately, thanks to Moonkitti. Do I think Bramblestar is being abusive without realizing it? Yes. His actions are inexcusable in Squirrelflight's Hope. But what I don't understand is why everyone suddenly thinks that Bramblestar is this horrid cat that needs to be chucked into the Dark Forest. Trust me, I can think of cats way worse than Bramblestar that deserve to go to the DF but went to Starclan instead *cough* Ashfur *cough*. It makes my blood boil seeing people talk as if Firestar will be the one to judge Brambo and personally throw him into cat hell- like what? Firestar would never do that!
> 
> Also just because Bramblestar acted poorly doesn't absolve Squirrelflight of her own toxicity. Sorry, but Squirrel is not some innocent baby that we need to protect and stan. 
> 
> Squirrelflight's Hope was a trash heap that butchered a ton of cats characters, not just Bramblestar's. 
> 
> Sorry, I needed to get that out. If you leave any comments or reviews, please talk about the chapter and not about Bramblestar and Squirrelflight. I just wanted something Halloween to go with the season. ;-;
> 
> Also, might not be any updates next week. All my teachers decided that next week would be a fantastic time to assign me tests, so I've got a Test Rush next week. Which will be incredibly stressing. Sorry in advance. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Everything was peaceful. The half- barren trees swayed in the wind, mice and other types of prey scampered along the forest floor, and the stars were twinkling beautifully. The quiet ambiance of the forest was broken by the cheerful steps of a black-furred she-cat, humming a tune only she knew to herself as she padded along happily. She took a look at the starry sky, studying the positions of the stars.

“Just a few more days of travel, and I'll get to the meeting place right before Halloween starts!” she purred happily.

All Hallow's Eve was the single most important holiday in the year for a witch like Umbra(except for maybe Walpurgisnacht, but she didn't talk about _that_ holiday in particular. _That_ was the night she had to hide, lest some fanatic tried to hunt her down to burn on the proverbial stake.). No, All Hallow's Eve was the night she got to have _fun_. Plus, she gets to meet other witches and warlocks during that time- normally it was so rare for one witch to meet another witch outside of Halloween, so this was really the only time she got to speak to other cats of her own kind.

She was excited for the coming night, and Umbra felt as if nothing could bring her spirits down.

Until the scent of other cats slammed into her nostrils, and she blinked in shock as multiple cats suddenly jumped out of the bushes and surrounded her.

“What are you doing in Thunderclan territory, rogue?”

“Thunderclan?” she sounded out the term, confused. Then her mind registered 'territory' and she gave an inward cringe. Had she been so happy to have been making good time that she hadn't even noticed that she had stepped over a scent line?

Evidently, it seemed as though she had.

“I'm really sorry. I didn't know I stepped over any boundaries. I'm just trying to pass through,” she tried explaining.

“A likely story,” a tabby with dark stripes scoffed at her. She decided that she didn't like him. He had a foul aura surrounding him. “Look at her, carrying that thing on her; she's clearly a kittypet! We need to chase her out!” Did he mean her satchel? It wasn't that strange looking was it?

Well, to be honest, maybe she did look a little strange to these cats. She thought that the witches who wore those strange looking Twoleg hats looked pretty weird. She couldn't believe that Twoleg witches wore those weird looking things.

“We'll bring her to Bluestar to decide,” a white tom said softly. “Come with us please. Don't make us use force,” he said. She took in a deep breath, deciding that fighting these cats would only delay her in getting to her destination. She would explain that she was only passing through to this Bluestar and hopefully she would just be escorted out of the territory with no fuss.

“I really am only trying to pass through though,” she muttered. The white tom flicked his ear, but didn't slow down his pace as he and his patrol of cats lead her through the forest. The scent of multiple cats hit her in the nose as they neared what could only be where these cats lived. Cats peaked their heads out of their dens and stared at her in curiosity, but she was too busy internally gushing over the camp instead of being concerned by the amount of cats that could potentially kill her.

' _Awwww they have their own little community and everything! This is so cute!'_

“Bluestar!” Whitestorm called. The leader poked her head out of her den, padding out to meet the patrol. “We found this she-cat on our territory. She claims that she's only trying to pass through.”

“I _am_ only trying to pass through,” Umbra murmured. Bluestar gave a hum, examining the she-cat in front of her. Umbra could hear the mutterings and whispers about what to do with her behind her. Eh, if she really had to, she could just use her powers and whatnot to make an escape.

“We should just chase her out now before her kittypet stench scares off all the prey!” Darkstripe exclaimed.

“She said she was only passing through!” Firepaw called out angrily. Darkstripe whirled around to glare at the ginger apprentice, and Umbra's opinion of the foul cat only soured.

“Maybe you should join her, kittypet!” he spat. She glanced over at the ginger cat, noticing his bristling fur. Oh, he was the outcast in this group wasn't he? Graypaw and Ravenpaw whispered into Firepaw's ears, telling him to calm down. He did so reluctantly.

“I'm sorry Darkstripe, are you the leader here?” Bluestar asked crossly. He wilted at her glare burning into the back of his head and avoided her gaze. “Thought so.” She turned back to the she-cat. “What is your name?”

“I'm Umbra.”

“Umbra... strange name,” she murmured.

“Bluestar is a pretty strange name too,” she replied sassily. Bluestar stared at the witch for a moment, and Umbra briefly wondered if she overstepped her boundaries. But Bluestar only gave an amused purr.

“Well, she doesn't seem like a threat to me,” Bluestar meowed airily. “Just as long as she hasn't taken any prey from our territory...” Umbra frantically shook her head.

“I mean- I was just so happy to be making good time for the All Hallow's Eve meeting that I didn't even notice where I wandered into!” she laughed nervously. The cats around her looked confused at her statement.

“What's All Hallow's Eve?” someone called out. She gasped, almost offended at the mere thought of these cats not knowing such an important holiday.

“You don't know? It's the night where the border between the living realm and the spiritual realm is at its absolute weakest! It's the night where my magic is at it's strongest! It's the night where we witches come together to communicate and visit the dead without having to cross over into the spiritual realm!” she explained excitedly. She couldn't believe these cats had no idea about Halloween!

Bluestar gave her an interested look. “You can communicate with the dead without the Moonstone?” she murmured to herself.

“This 'magic' sounds like nonsense,” Tigerclaw commented, although he _was_ slightly interested at the border of the living and dead being at its weakest. Umbra's ear twitched as she picked up his comment.

“Nonsense?” she muttered. First these cats had no idea what Halloween was, and now they didn't believe in magic? ' _You poor, blasphemous fools...'_

“I'll show you all it's not some kind of tall-tale.” She sat down and brought up her satchel, and opened it up. Light poured out of the bag, and Thunderclan watched in awe as she stuck her paw in and dug around. “Come on, I know I have it in here somewhere...” She stuck in head into the satchel, and for a moment many cats thought she was suffocating herself. She quickly pulled her head out, some kind of case in her jaws.

“Ta-da!” she crowed triumphantly.

“Okay... so what is it exactly?” Bluestar inquired. Umbra grinned and she opened up the case, revealing many tiny pieces of intricate, shiny charms.

“These charms are super special!” she said, holding one up and showing it off to the clan cats. “Each one of these charms has a specific quality to them. Using these endows a cat with that quality. For example, the one I'm holding up now will gift a cat the endless power of love. Or,” she picked up another one, “this one will gift a cat immense strength,” she explained. She could tell that she had this clan's complete attention.

“You know, I usually make cats pay for these things, but I feel super bad for you guys cause you don't know the wonders of Halloween. I'll give these things to you for free and you can get a go of how fun Halloween can be,” she meowed.

Bluestar's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What's the catch?”

Umbra shook her head. “No catch. I'm feeling generous today. How's this: I'll let you have these for free and you get to spend a night having fun, and I get free passing through the territory so I can make good time for the meeting.”

The Thunderclan leader stared at her for bit, before she nodded. “Deal.”

Umbra scanned the crowd, looking for a specific cat. She finally laid eyes on Ravenpaw. “You! Small-black tom!” Ravenpaw looked around wildly before gesturing at himself.

“Me?”

“Yes you! Get over here!” She ran up to him and dragged him by the tail over to her box of charms. “You look like a guy who could use a bit more confidence in himself,” she commented, digging through the box to look for a specific charm. Ravenpaw's ears flushed red in embarrassment.

“I guess I could use some...”

“Well here you go!” She passed him a small charm, and he noticed that it looked like a cat with wings and a beak. “That's the Charm of the Griffin. It should give you a bit more courage, even if for a night.” He carefully took the charm and nodded to her, returning to the other apprentices. She looked around for another cats.

“You both next!” she called out cheerfully to Tigerclaw and Lionheart. Tigerclaw gave Lionheart a questioning glance, and the deputy shrugged, before padding up to Umbra. She dug around in the charms before pulling out two charms, one that looked like a lion, and the other a tiger. Their eyes shown in interest at the sight of the ancient cats. “Dunno, I feel like the Charm of the Lion and the Charm of the Tiger would fit you both best. They should imbue you both with magnificent strength.”

Soon enough, she had cats lined up to receive their own charm. She glared at Darkstripe until he gave a halfhearted apology for his rude behavior. She rolled her eyes as she handed him the Charm of the Vampire.

“Oh you look like someone who could use some love in her life,” she commented to a flustered Sandpaw.

“I- I don't need love!” she stuttered. Umbra only grinned at her as she gave the apprentice the love charm she showed off earlier. She had a feeling the apprentice would be enjoying herself on Halloween, or at the very least she would understand the cats around her better. She was pleased at her work- all the cats were excitedly talking about what charm they received and what they represented.

“Ah, excuse me?” She looked down to see the ginger apprentice that stood up for her earlier. “There wouldn't happen to be a charm for me too?” Oh, she hadn't given anything to him had she? Without a word, she started digging around the box, wondering what charm to give him. He was clearly the outcast in this clan, but she wasn't sure how she could make this clan like him better. But if she could maybe just make him enjoy Halloween night...

Firepaw studied the charm that Umbra gave him. He was disappointed at its plain appearance. All the other charms the clan received were extremely detailed, but his was... just a circle. It was just a simple ring of metal, and he didn't think there was any special quality about it.

“What does it do?” he asked.

“Ah...” She studied what she gave him. “I can't remember what that one does exactly. All I remember is that it does something really cool.” she said. He tried to keep the disappointment off his face and thanked her, before padding over to Graypaw and Ravenpaw dejectedly.

“So what did you get Firepaw?” Graypaw asked excitedly, bouncing on his paws. He held up the charm, and the two apprentice's faces drooped in confusion. “Well, uh, what does it do?” Graypaw fumbled.

“She doesn't remember,” he said.

“Ah, cheer up! It might do something really neat!” Graypaw smiled.

“So I gotta bounce!” Umbra called, and everyone's heads snapped over to her, various levels of confusion on their faces at her words. “I meant, I have to leave,” she huffed. “Just remember that these charms only work on the night of Halloween which is...” she scanned the stars above her, “..in about four nights. So all you got to do is hold up your charm into the light of the moon and the magic should automatically activate,” she explained. “Well, I gotta get going or I'll be late. See ya!” She hurriedly trotted out of the camp and continued on her way.

“Strange she-cat,” Bluestar whispered to Lionheart, who nodded wholeheartedly.

“Phew! I really thought those guys would kill me or something.” She thought back to the charm she gave the ginger apprentice, thinking hard of its quality. “Oh, crabapples. I gave him the Charm of the Halo.” She stopped in her tracks, wondering if she should go back and tell the ginger that she remembered what exactly it did, but then shrugged. “Oh well, he'll figure out what it does eventually.”

.

.

* * *

.

.

Excitement was buzzing in the air within the Thunderclan camp four days later. Everyone was eager to see if Umbra's charms really worked. Firepaw was less excited about the whole deal, not particularly excited by his unknown charm's abilities. But nonetheless, he joined the rest of the clan outside on Halloween night, bringing his charm along with him.

“So how do we do this again? We just hold up our charms into the light of the moon and it'll do the work for us?” Graypaw asked.

Tigerclaw rolled his eyes. “I'm still not sure how this thing will imbue me with strength or something like that,” he grumbled. Nevertheless, the tabby held up his charm by his claw, letting it catch the bright moonlight. Everyone watched in rapt attention as the charm glowed fiercely, before the light died down. Tigerclaw frowned. “I don't feel any different-” Then he gasped, his body rippling as it grew bigger, claws and fangs enlarging and growing sharper, his body structure changing into that of a-

Firepaw gasped with the rest of the clan. “Did he just turn into a tiger?!” Graypaw exclaimed. Tigerclaw looked himself over as his changes completed themselves, his pelt and muscles rippling as he twisted his huge body around to examine his new form. Firepaw's ears twitched as he picked up some sort of chuffing coming from Tigerclaw, the tabby pleased with his new form.

“Guess magic isn't complete nonsense after all,” his deeper voice boomed, looking down at the charm he dropped reverently.

“If your charm was that of the Tiger, then maybe...” Lionheart murmured. The golden tom wordlessly held up his charm next, everyone's attention switching to the Thunderclan deputy. The charm glowed fiercely, just like Tigerclaw's had, before the light died down. After a moment, Lionheart's body also shuddered and rippled, his claws growing sharper, his body enlarging, and a huge mane of fur growing around his neck and trailing down his body. Lionheart couldn't help the roar of the excitement that escaped from his maw.

“You've got to be kidding me...” Dustpaw muttered in shock. Ravenpaw looked down at his charm thoughtfully, wondering if it would actually give him some confidence.

“I- I'm next!” Ravenpaw cried. Firepaw and Graypaw gave him encouraging purrs, and Ravenpaw held up his charm into the moonlight. Thunderclan watched as he grew bigger, his forelegs turning into talons, his face reshaping itself into a beak, and black wings bursting out of his back. Ravenpaw let out a caw, before examining himself, just like Lionheart and Tigerclaw had done.

Before long, everyone was eager to hold up their charms, but also wanting to witness everyone's transformations.

Sandpaw held up her charm into the moonlight warily, not understanding how she was going to receive love. Before long, Firepaw witnessed Sandpaw's body maturing into that of an adult she-cat, bat-like wings bursting out of her back, horns erupting from her head, and her tail lengthening itself, the tip ending in a pointy heart shape. She purred almost seductively, and Firepaw couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked as though she was actually enjoying herself, even with her previous apprehension over her charm.

Firepaw wondered if he would end up liking what he would turn into as well.

“Firepaw, come on! You're the only one that hasn't transformed yet!” Graypaw howled into his ear. Firepaw glared up at the gray wolf, rubbing his ears in irritation. Graypaw only grinned apologetically at him. He held up his charm halfway into the air, before hesitating. He stared into the ring again, and then at the rest of the transformed clan, having second thoughts.

“What if I don't get something really cool. I mean, Ravenpaw is so strong now, and you're a huge powerful dog, and even Sandpaw is enjoying herself-” he rambled on.

“Well no one is going to know what yours does until you try right? It will probably be something super neat!” Graypaw encouraged. Firepaw drew in a deep breath, holding his charm into the moonlight. The intensity of his charm's glow drew the attention of the rest of the clan, waiting to see what Firepaw's unknown charm would do to him. Instantly, Firepaw could feel his body fill up with light, and his mind connected with the very Earth itself, hearing its song and understanding how the world worked.

He was amazed at his level of understanding, and he was already dreading losing his divine insight once the night was over.

He gasped as a pleasant feeling trailed into his spine, two white wings with ginger tips bursting out of his back. The tingling trailed into his ears, two little white wings growing out from behind his ears and folding themselves around to face the front of his head. The fur along his shoulders and where his hind legs met his body grew longer and wispy, as did the tip of his tail and the heels of all four of his paws. Holy light circled around his head, forming itself into a circle of light that hovered just above him.

' _Oh, so that's what the charm represented. It was a Halo..._ ' he thought to himself, and wondered how he even knew what it was in the first place. Graypaw gave him a hearty nudge.

“See? Told you it would be super neat!” Firepaw purred in agreement, extending his wings and hovering off the ground.

“I'm actually flying!” he exclaimed happily.

“Aw no fair! I can't fly up with you and Ravenpaw!” Graypaw shouted indignantly, though Firepaw could tell he wasn't being serious. Graypaw was clearly happy with what he had turned into.

“Come on Lionheart! I want to see what a lion is made of!” Tigerclaw boomed. The two big cats circled each other before wrestling the other into the ground. Thunderclan cheered at their display of strength, knowing that they were extremely lucky to see an actual Lion and Tiger from the ancient clans show off what they could do.

Firepaw was more interested in flying over the territory though. He met up with Ravenpaw in the sky, as well as being joined by Sandpaw, who was weirdly enough eyeing him up, and let the wind and his wings carry him over Thunderclan territory. He wanted to enjoy Halloween before dawn came.

He held up his charm, which was hanging onto one of his claws and hummed thoughtfully. Umbra said that the charms only lasted for Halloween night, but she didn't say it was _only_ for this one Halloween. He grinned excitedly as his divine insight gave him the answer he sought.

He couldn't wait for next Halloween.

Throughout the night, Thunderclan territory was alight with celebration, the likes of which the clan had never seen or experienced before. No one was complaining though, except for Darkstripe, who had acquired a ravenous taste for blood that needed to be satisfied throughout the night, which made it impossible for him to enjoy the festivities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this one out. 
> 
> I turned Sandpaw into a succubus? Yes. Yes I did. 
> 
> I turned Graypaw into a wolf cause I ran out of ideas. It's up to the readers to decide who got what charms and what they did. 
> 
> If anyone's wondering about Walpurgisnacht, it's basically German Halloween, but in the springtime and associated with witch hunts. So oof, not a holiday witches want to be around for. 
> 
> So yeah, might not be around next week, so please be patient for updates. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	16. Tiny Wings: Ignite Divergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The result of what happens when a cat and a dragon-cat have children together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I caved. I really wanted to write about dragon-kittens. 
> 
> If you haven't read Ignite, this might be a bit confusing for you... and possibly weird. Depends on how you see it. 
> 
> I thought this would be good compensation in the event that I can't update this week and/or next week. 
> 
> Bunch of people bragging on the internet that they get this whole week off for Thanksgiving and what the heck I don't get off this week! And even if I did all my teachers would pile on the homework anyway :V
> 
> So anyway, enjoy.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

“Are you doing alright Sandstorm?” Sorreltail asked from her nest within the nursery. Sandstorm shifted within her own nest, wishing she could stretch her legs. But her kits needed her undivided attention, even though they hadn't really been born yet. She had wanted more kits, but she was beginning to remember why she detested being in the nursery for so long again. She loved Squirrelflight and Leafpool dearly, but she wasn't entirely fond of staying within the nursery for over six moons.

She had never been happier when Squirrelflight and Leafpool were finally apprenticed, and then she could finally get out and hunt again.

But now...

“I'm just fine Sorreltail,” she sighed.

“It's just... you look like you could really use a stretch right now,” Sorreltail commented. “The world won't end if you get up and stretch your legs for a bit.”

“You didn't think a walk would hurt until you started kitting outside camp Sorreltail,” Sandstorm said dryly to her former apprentice. The tortoiseshell queen only smiled at her. Lilykit and Seedkit peered over their mother, staring into Sandstorm's nest with curiosity.

“Suppose it couldn't hurt to get up an stretch my legs a little...” she grumbled. She got up, making sure to be gentle with the nest's contents.

Her belly wasn't round with kits, but there weren't any sleeping kits within the nest either.

She looked down at the leathery eggs with fondness and love. They were all black with some ginger imprints that emulated scales. It had come as a shock when she laid them, but the weirdness of it all didn't stop her from loving her kits all the same.

At least, she hoped there were kits inside of the eggs.

It shouldn't really have surprised her all that much, given all of Firestar's changes. She never considered that his transformation would transfer into their offspring.

She never considered laying eggs either but...

Mating season had hit Thunderclan hard. Many of the she-cats had spent mating season away from most of the toms in the clan, not wanting to have kits, and some others decided to try for more children. Sandstorm had wanted kits, but with the way Firestar was now... she didn't think it was a good idea. He was troubled enough with his changes as is, as well as being leader, he didn't need to worry about having kits on top of everything.

The clan soon learned that all of the scents combined with Firestar's enhanced senses had driven the Thunderclan leader crazy with need. He had scared them all, his eyes flickering from green to red and then back again, and he needed to leave camp lest he do something he regret. Sandstorm had foolishly followed him, being worried for her mate.

It was the most pleasurable day she had ever had.

Honestly, she had wanted kits anyway, and she got to help her mate as a bonus. It was a win-win for her.

Of course, Firestar had been worried, considering not only were there going to be more mouths to feed, but Firestar in particular needed more food to fuel his new body. What if the kits ended up like him, scales and wings and sharp claws with a bigger hunger to satisfy than most cats? He had been rightfully worried, but she was already pregnant, and the two of them would give the world to their kits if they could.

Firestar had started acting strangely after she was confirmed pregnant. He would leave camp at random times over the course of the moon, and she wasn't sure what he was doing until he had approached her one day, his eyes fully red, and dragged her to a very cozy nest outside camp. She was flattered that he built her a nice nest (and assumed that the nest building frenzy had something to do with his feral side), but the problem was that he wouldn't let her leave. He had merely sat there, watching her, growling when she attempted to leave the nest.

She had gotten exasperated with his actions and was about to confront him when her body decided to go into kitting, _a whole moon early_. His eyes had lit up and nudged her into a certain position and kept her like that, and whatever had passed out of her body hadn't felt like a kit at all. She had laid down in shock upon gazing at the three eggs she had laid, watching Firestar carefully nudge the eggs together and curling up around them.

It had taken a while for Firestar to revert back to his normal self, looking down at the eggs with confusion until the confusion in his eyes had been gradually replaced with love, the stone in his chest glowing a warm red.

A patrol had finally found them after being missing from the clan for about a day, and Firestar had unintentionally growled at them from a distance, hovering over his eggs protectively.

It had taken a quarter moon for the leader to feel comfortable with the clan moving the nest and the eggs into the nursery, Brambleclaw taking control of the clan in the time Firestar and Sandstorm were keeping their eggs warm.

The clan had scrambled trying to find a way to care for eggs instead of kits, but Sandstorm already knew what to do by watching Firestar's instincts take over. She just needed to keep them warm until her kits were ready to hatch(which was something she thought she would never say in her life).

Currently, it was one of the few rare days when Firestar wasn't constantly in the nursery with her, trying to keep the eggs warm. He was overbearing most of the time, but she figured his behavior was partly due to the stone's influence, filling him with the instincts that belonged to whatever he was changing into. They would spend their nights whispering and talking to their eggs when they believed no one was listening in. They hadn't even been born yet and they loved them so!

No doubt Firestar was staring intently at the nursery from where he was, even though he had duties to attend to.

“When will they hatch?” Lilykit squeaked.

“They'll hatch when they're ready,” Sandstorm murmured, sitting back down and curling around the eggs. There was nothing more to say, until she felt one of the eggs shake violently, a cracking sound echoing in the nursery. The queens all stared in awed silence as one of the eggs shook around, cracks appearing and gradually enlarging.

“Oh Starclan...” Ferncloud uttered in shock. “Someone should get Jayfeather.”

“You're going to alert Firestar if you do that,” Daisy said, glancing outside the nursery with concerned eyes.

“With his senses? He probably already knows what's happening,” Sorreltail snorted. “You might as well get Jayfeather, just in case.” Daisy nodded, before exiting the den. Sandstorm ignored the other queens as she watched the eggs intensely, eyes widening as the shell of the egg was finally pierced by what looked like a black horn.

By the time Daisy arrived back with Jayfeather, the little creature inside had fought its way out of the confines of its shell, its tiny body sliding out of the remains.

It was a kit, its legs and tail covered in scales, with tiny wings that were trying to unfurl as they dried. There was a little black horn on the kit's nose, probably what the kit used to hatch from the egg. Jayfeather wasted no time in bending down his head and licking the kit dry, the kit letting out a squeak at the foreign sensation. Sandstorm let out a breath she didn't know she had kept in as Jayfeather set the kit down within the curve of her belly, aware that the other two eggs were beginning to hatch as well.

“It's a tom,” Jayfeather told her. “I suppose it would be around the time for you to give birth if you were having normal kits,” he muttered. His ears pricked at the commotion going on outside the nursery, his ears immediately picking up an enraged growl.

“Looks like Firestar isn't too happy with everyone right now,” Ferncloud said amused.

“They want to see what his kits look like. With how he is right now, I suppose everyone is a little too close to the nursery,” Brightheart said amused.

Daisy frowned. “Are we too close at the moment, or can we stay?” The other queens blinked, having not considered that Firestar may not want them close to Sandstorm either. The tom in question pushed his way into the nursery, wings folded up tightly at his sides as his eyes immediately sought out his mate. The queens stifled their giggles as his mouth hung open slightly in surprise and awe as he gazed down upon the tiny kits at their mother's belly.

The queens gave each other looks and silently got up to leave the nursery, Sorreltail herding Lilykit and Seedkit along.

“Awww but I want to see them!” Seedkit wailed.

“You'll be able to see them later,” Sorreltail said. “As long as Firestar doesn't try to claw us that is,” she muttered to herself.

Firestar paid the she-cats no mind, his gaze fixated on the squirming kits as they suckled from their mother greedily.

“Two toms and a she-kit Firestar,” Jayfeather whispered to him as he padded out. Firestar gave a tiny nod, acknowledging that he heard the medicine cat, and silently walked up to Sandstorm and sat himself down in her nest.

“Look at them... three perfect hatchlings,” he whispered. The stone glowed warmly, and the kits attempted to squirm and crawl over to him, having stopped nursing at the sound of his voice. “Have you named them yet?”

“Of course not, they only just hatched. I haven't come up with anything for them yet,” she purred. She stared at the kits, the pretty tortoiseshell she-kit catching her eye first. “How about we name her Skykit?” Firestar nodded, happy with the name. His eyes trailed over to the sand-colored tom- Sandstorm's spitting image.

“And him?”

She hummed. “How about Sunkit?” She figured that he was going to accept any name for them; he was just happy to even see the kits. “Why don't you name the last one?”

“Ah...” he kneaded the nest with his claws uncomfortably. She placed a paw over his claws, stopping him from destroying the moss. She gave him a questioning look.

“It's just- I never wanted you to go through all that. It must have been frightening, having to _lay eggs_. And I just- encouraged it,” he mumbled.

“Neither one of us expected me to lay eggs, but it happened and we're here now aren't we?” She gave him a lick between the ears. “You know I always wanted more kits after Squirrelflight and Leafpool. And to be honest? The egg laying probably isn't the weirdest thing about all this.”

“What is then?” he asked.

“The weirdest thing will be figuring out how to raise these three,” she said fondly. “You helped make these kits just as much as I did, now go name your son instead of leaving me to do everything.” He laughed lightly, his gaze trailing onto the kit with flaming ginger fur- much like himself. If Sunkit was Sandstorm's spitting image, then this kit was surely his.

“Flamekit,” he said resolutely.

“Can we see the kits, or are we not allowed in either?” Squirrelflight's voice called from the nursery entrance.

“Come in hatchling,” Firestar called out. After a bit of shuffling outside, Leafpool entered cautiously first, and then Squirrelflight entered, dragging in Brambleclaw with her.

“Why am I here again?” Brambleclaw questioned. “Not that I don't want to see the kits, but should I really be here? I can always come and see them later!” he stammered uncertainly. But Firestar only beckoned the three over with a wave of his tail. The three made their way over to be met with the sight of the three scaled, winged kits, purring happily within their parent's embrace.

“They're just like you Father!” Squirrelflight exclaimed. Leafpool gazed at them curiously, before fretting over Sandstorm and checking if her mother was okay.

“Having three ravenous kits must be taxing already,” Leafpool murmured.

“I'll manage,” Sandstorm meowed.

“They really do look just like you,” Brambleclaw whispered to Firestar. Firestar purred, giving his hatchling a few licks in between the ears.

“You're still my hatchling Brambleclaw. The only thing that's changed is that my hoard has expanded by three. I don't want you to feel as if you're being replaced,” Firestar said warmly. Brambleclaw relaxed and nodded, knowing that he would never escape from Firestar's hold. But in the end, was that really a bad thing?

As the family spent the rest of the day gushing over their new additions, none of them noticed the pleased glow of the stone, casting a light over the newly-hatched kits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the stone did a little bit more than just change Firestar physically. It also changed him biologically if you catch my drift. 
> 
> Now you might be asking: why eggs? Why did Sandstorm lay eggs? I figured that sharp scales and claws forming inside her wouldn't be healthy. Plus birth might be complicated- if she died the clans would have a very distraught and angry dragon raining hellfire on top of them. 
> 
> So now natural born dragon-cats have been born within Thunderclan- and somewhere down the line dragon cats would replace regular cats within Thunderclan. This opens up a ton of possibilities that I'm not going to write about lol. This is just a what-if scenario. 
> 
> I'll be honest, I almost forgot about Brightheart. I'm guessing I screwed up the timeline- because this would be after Sorreltail gives birth but before the Dark Forest battle, and I guess Brightheart is also pregnant from mating season as well? I don't know, I just wanted to write it. l
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	17. Growing Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a cat reaches the age for apprenticeship, they go through a time where their body changes in a unique way. But that's only for clan born cats...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the *checks notes* 18th day of- wait the song doesn't extend past 12! ;-;
> 
> I'm done with all my finals! And it wasn't as stressing as I thought it would be, so I decided to go ahead and get out another chapter! 
> 
> So now that my finals are done, that question is, will I go back to my previous scheduling of one chapter a day? The answer is... heck no. I'm not the wellspring of creativity I was all the way back during Summer. I need time to come up with stuff you know! 
> 
> So over two months ago, a user called Apriljammer20053 suggested an idea for the AU Dump and I was super interested in the idea! So the idea stewed in my mind for a while until I decided that apparently now was a great time to write it. I might have changed a couple things about the idea though, so sorry bout that. Heck I didn't even know that Apriljammer was still reading my stuff or was even still alive until I got a notification that I finally got kudos from Apriljammer. Coincidentally, was also the day I started writing the chapter. Well what do you know? Here's an early Christmas gift to you I guess? :V
> 
> Tbh, I kind of hate the way this turned out. The things you envision in your head typically don't transfer onto material reality all that well. But I'm hoping that you'll all like it, cause I really don't feel like rewriting something of this size. 3000 words man. That's six and a half pages! I'm satisfied enough with the thing, and that's all that really matters.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Firepaw nosed Graypaw in concern, the gray tom occasionally letting out soft, low moans of pain. It didn't make any sense- Graypaw was fine this morning, and he didn't show any signs of sickness until he had suddenly collapsed onto his nest in pain right in front of him!

“Are you feeling okay?” Firepaw mewed in concern.

“I feel like I got run over by a monster,” Graypaw groaned. His body contorted as another painful wave hit him, and he gave a grimace. “Actually, make it multiple monsters. Constantly running over me.”

Another moan of pain reached Firepaw's ears, though it didn't come from the gray apprentice lying in a heap beneath him. He turned his head to see Ravenpaw also drawn into himself, the tom's body shaking and shivering. Nearby, Sandpaw and Dustpaw also looked uncomfortable, trying their hardest to keep in all the pain. Their eyes shown the pain that they so desperately didn't want anyone to see.

Firepaw flicked his tail in uncertainty; he didn't know what was up with the other apprentices and he wasn't quite sure of what to do.

“Uh... I'll get Spottedleaf!” he said, before bolting out of the apprentices' den in search of the tortoiseshell she-cat. Cats turned their heads as he rushed across the clearing, though he paid no attention to them.

“Spottedleaf!” She looked up from what she was doing, first in curiosity, then in concern at Firepaw's frazzled appearance.

“Firepaw? What's wrong?”

He panted a bit, before taking in a gulp in air. “Something's wrong with everyone! They all look like they're in pain and Graypaw says he's in pain, and I don't know what's wrong with them all!” he cried. He expected Spottedleaf to immediately jump up and race across the clearing, taking along some herbs with her. But instead she nodded, a knowing gleam in her eyes.

“I suppose it's the right time and age for the four,” she muttered, idly padding out of the den. Confused, Firepaw followed her out. She hurried over to the apprentices' den, and looked inside for a few heartbeats. Then she turned around and padded over to Bluestar, who also had a knowing look on her face.

There wasn't any need to call for the clan to convene, as Firepaw's dash to the medicine den had attracted most of the cats in the clan. He pricked his ears, confused at the mutterings around camp.

“I bet it's that time again.”

“They're the right age for it, right?”

“I hope they're okay...”

Bluestar lifted her tail, calling for silence. “I'm sure you're all aware by now. Our apprentices have reached the age where they will undergo the Changes. As such, they will be exempt from training and duties for the foreseeable future, until their bodies have acclimated. I'm sure you all remember your experiences going through the Changes perfectly well, so it would be nice for someone close to each of the apprentices to stay with them as they go through the Changes, just like others did for us,” Bluestar meowed, a tone of remembrance in her voice.

Firepaw was left even more confused than ever. He had no idea what these 'changes' were. He watched as Spottedleaf carefully lead each apprentice out of the apprentices' den, and guided them into the medicine den.

“Where does it hurt?” Spottedleaf asked Graypaw as he finally settled down onto the nest with a pained hiss.

“Everywhere,” he moaned.

“But where does it hurt the most?”

Graypaw shuffled in his nest for a moment before answering: “I think around my head hurts the most. Behind my ears,” he mewed. Spottedleaf nodded before asking the same question to the others. Willowpelt and Lionheart were curled around Graypaw as he fidgeted in his nest. Brindleface and Frostfur were nosing Ravenpaw and Dustpaw, before Brindleface nodded to the white queen, and moved over to where Whitestorm was hovering over Sandpaw.

Feeling confused and almost left out, he let his paws guide him over to Bluestar, his body itching to get an important question off of his mind.

“What- what are the Changes?”

Bluestar purred, and she gestured beside her, motioning for him to sit down. “Well, after a moon of living with us, you've undoubtedly seen many cats with... unusual features, yes?” He nodded, taking a glance at his leaders' somewhat curved horns protruding from her forehead. He had seen a lot of weird body parts that didn't look like they belonged onto a cat on... all of the warriors actually. Tigerclaw had massive horns on his head that were impossible to miss. Spottedleaf had a third eye, directly on her forehead. Longtail had an extra tail, though the two tails weren't equal in length. Darkstripe had small spikes coming out of various areas of his body, and he could have sworn that he saw an extra pair of ears on Lionheart's head....

“Well, the Changes are how we get those extra features. They typically come in when a cat reaches six moons, or at the very least during apprenticeship.”

Firepaw nodded, though there was still a nagging feeling in his mind. “But why?”

“Why?”

“Why go through the Changes at all? What purpose does it serve?”

Bluestar hummed, a thoughtful look on her face. “I suppose it's Starclan's gift to us, to differentiate us from non-clan cats,” she said. “Think of it as a coming of age.”

Firepaw cast his eyes onto the ground. ' _Ah, so that's why..._ ' Of course he should have expected such an experience to be for clan cats only, not for kittypet pretenders. That's why many of the clan scorned him, because they knew he would never grow extra features that would denote him as clan born. He would always be the normal cat in the crowd, with no extra features to boast about. He said nothing, only the twitching of his tail betraying his discomfort.

“Firepaw! Let's move it! Just because the other apprentices are going through the Changes doesn't mean you're exempt from training today!” Tigerclaw yowled from the other side of the clearing.

“Best to not keep Tigerclaw waiting,” Bluestar commented, getting up and padding off into the leaders' den. His ears drooped, knowing that Tigerclaw was going to work him into the ground to compensate for his denmates' lack of contribution.

.

.

* * *

.

.

“ _He has an important destiny ahead of him, one that will decide if the clans continue to persist, or fall.”_

“ _He's only an apprentice, surely you're not thinking of...?”_

“ _He'll need all the respect he can get if he is to save the clans. This is the only way.”_

“ _But he is not clanborn!”_

“ _There won't be any clanborn cats if the fire cannot save the clans...”_

“ _...Very well.”_

.

.

* * *

.

.

Fireheart watched as cats started waking up around him, Tigerclaw stretching his body and tiredly padding out of the warriors' den. It hadn't been that long since he was made a warrior, but for some reason he couldn't sleep that night. His body felt lethargic and heavy, but even though he felt exhausted, something was keeping him from slumber. So he had been up all night, trying to get at least a little bit of sleep. All of his attempts at falling asleep had been unsuccessful, and now he felt even more exhausted than usual.

He looked up blearily to see Tigerclaw staring down at him. “Well, since you're up, you might as well get on the dawn patrol,” he rumbled. “Get Graystripe while you're at it,” he said as an afterthought, moving to leave the den again.

After waking up Graystripe, Fireheart finally stepped out the den, frowning as each pawstep he took sent a stinging sensation throughout his body. What was wrong with him today?

He practically trudged himself through the dawn patrol, stumbling occasionally. He made sure to keep to the back of the patrol so no one saw...

“Hey, are you feeling okay? You look sick almost,” Graystripe asked him in a whisper. Fireheart only glanced at his friend, mumbling a quiet “I'm fine” to him. His friend had grown horns that spiraled out from behind his ears. Sandpaw had grown scales all over her body, and Dustpaw had grown another set of ears.

Ravenpaw had been the most interesting, having grown small black wings. Apparently growing wings was rare, but growing wings that were practical were even rarer. Ravenpaw couldn't fly with them, essentially making them useless. Tigerclaw had made his displeasure at Ravenpaw's inability to fly quite known.

He bit back a yawn as they finally made it back to camp; maybe he could try and get some sleep this time. His hopes were dashed when Tigerclaw informed him that he would be placed on the sunhigh hunting patrol with a sneer on his face.

He was ready to collapse after a day or so telling many concerned looking cats that he was fine. He figured he looked terrible, with all the exhaustion from a lack of sleep, and from the stinging sensation that gradually grew into painful waves that made him want to curl up and cry. But he insisted on continuing patrolling and hunting as usual. He couldn't afford to show weakness- he had to prove to everyone that he could be a capable warrior!

“Fireheart, seriously, you look awful. I think you need to see Yellowfang,” Graystripe said, a uncharacteristic look of seriousness on his face.

“I'm fine! Really I am!” Fireheart said tiredly. “It's only a little bit of pain and exhaustion; I'll live. I just-” he stumbled suddenly, his paws failing him as he collapsed in front of Graystripe's paws.

“Yellowfang! He needs help-”

.

.

* * *

.

.

“What's wrong with him?” Bluestar inquired, gazing down upon her former apprentice as his body twitched, the tom letting out short whimpers in his unconsciousness.

Yellowfang said nothing, only nosing the ginger tom, prodding at him until she hit a spot on his back, and his body involuntarily contorted as he let out an agonizing gasp, his face contorting into a grimace. She leaned back, confusion in her eyes. “You're going to call me crazy,” she grumbled.

“Try me. I want to know what's wrong with him,” Bluestar meowed harshly. “He was fine a few days ago.” She paused, a contemplating look on her face. “You don't think all the shock from Spottedleaf's death and then everything with the kits and Shadowclan and Brokenstar is catching up to him is it?” she fretted.

Yellowfang shook her head. “If everything was suddenly catching up to him, he would have showed signs almost immediately, not days after. No, this is something else. But I thought that it only affected clan cats...” she muttered.

Bluestar raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me or are you going to continue to leave me in the dark, Yellowfang?”

The medicine cat finally turned to face her, a look of comprehension on her face. “I think... I think he's going through the Changes.”

“Impossible. He's too old, and he's not clan born,” Bluestar growled. “Don't joke around with me.”

“If I wanted to joke around, I wouldn't be doing it here,” Yellowfang retorted. “You're not the only one who cares for this furball.” Bluestar stayed silent, her tail twitching in annoyance. “He's definitely going through the Changes. All the symptoms match. From the looks of it, something is going to grow out of his back.” Yellowfang gently ran her tail down Fireheart's spine, sadness gleaming in her eyes at the tom's sorry state.

It wasn't supposed to be possible. For all they knew, Fireheart had contracted some rare illness or something. But Yellowfang was an experienced medicine cat, and she knew what she was doing. Bluestar would have to trust her judgment. Though if Fireheart really was going through the Changes...

Her face softened, and she bent down to give him a lick between the ears. She remembered going through pain of her own Changes- the constant headache she had, growing worse and worse until every part of her body was engulfed in the same pain as her head. It was a miserable time where she wanted nothing more than to empty the contents of her stomach and then curl up in a corner somewhere. She and Snowfur had been so lucky that Moonflower had still been alive at that point- it would have been a much worse experience had she gone through the Changes after that disastrous battle with Windclan.

“Someone needs to go out there and tell the clan what's going on, before they think Fireheart's caught something contagious,” Yellowfang's murmur brought her out of her musings. Bluestar sighed and got up on her paws, casting a look down on Fireheart before turning to exit the den.

The clan was gathered outside, some faces she could see were concerned for Fireheart, others were concerned for their own well being, and she could see fewer faces twisted up into sneers, as if they were enjoying Fireheart's pain, or scorning him for getting himself into his current situation.

“Well? What's wrong with him?” Graystripe blurted out.

“It's not a sickness if that's what you're all worried about,” she meowed, watching many of the clan sigh in relief. She didn't know how they would take to being told that Fireheart was going through something only clan cats did though. “However, Yellowfang does believe that Fireheart's symptoms match with that of going through the Changes.”

Almost immediately mutterings and hissing graced her ears.

“That's not possible, he's not clan born!”

“I know, I know!” She waved her tail for some _silence_. “Just because we think he's going through the Changes, doesn't mean he will. For now, we will have to wait and see if there are any changes to Fireheart's body.” She met with Tigerclaw's eyes, hoping he got the message. The clan needed to have their minds off of Fireheart for the time being. He stared at her, and she could have sworn that she saw a glimmer of disdain- for who; her or Fireheart?- before turning to the rest of the clan to yowl out orders for patrols.

“But Bluestar, if he's really going through the Changes, he'll need someone there for him. Going through that was just so... _painful_ ,” Graystripe meowed, a pitying look on his face as he gazed into the medicine den.

Fireheart didn't have close family in the clan. He had no one to be there for him during his time of misery and pain.

“Don't worry about that. He's already got someone with him.” She dismissed him with a flick of her tail, and padded back into the medicine den.

“Well, I could hear them take that pretty well,” Yellowfang snarked.

“They're going to take it even less well if Fireheart actually grows something or if we get sick from being around him,” she said, curling herself around the shaking tom's form.

“Trust me, I know what I'm seeing. It's not the first time I've seen a non-clan born cat go through the Changes.” Bluestar whipped her head to stare at Yellowfang as the medicine cat laid down on Fireheart's other side. It looked as if the two she-cats were shielding him from the world.

Yellowfang felt Bluestar's stare burn into her head. “Look, Russetfur went through a minor change herself. She came down with a fever and a few days later she had some scales strewn across her pelt. You could hardly see them though; they blended into her fur too well.” A whimper made their heads turn back down onto Fireheart. “Right now, it doesn't matter. He needs us more at the moment.”

They didn't need to say anything; they just needed to be there for the cat they thought of as their own.

.

* * *

.

Fireheart groggily opened his eyes, feeling like a monster had flattened his body. He pricked his ears as the upset meows from outside grew louder. What was going on? Why was the clan suddenly upset at something?

“Oh good, you're awake,” Yellowfang commented as she pushed her way back into the den. “Gave us quite a scare, you did. Collapsing like that in front of everyone.”

“Wha- what happened?” he rasped out, his throat somewhat coarse from lack of use. Yellowfang dragged over a wet piece of moss, and he gratefully sucked the water out of it, the coolness soothing his throat.

“You went through the Changes,” she said bluntly.

His eyes widened and he stared at her like she had grown an extra head. “But that's only for clan born cats!”

“Usually it is. You had one of the worse symptoms of it that I've ever seen in my life. I suppose that's what happens when you overwork yourself during a time when your body is changing and you _should have been resting_.” He flattened his ears on top of his head- it wasn't as if he knew going through the Changes was possible for him! “Changes or not, you should have come to me if you were feeling unwell instead of telling everyone that you were fine.”

“I'm sorry,” he muttered.

Yellowfang only sighed. “You're young. You didn't know this would happen. But next time, don't wait until you're ready to collapse to see me.” She gave his head a lick after she chided him.

“So what did I grow exactly?” he asked, excited to see whatever extra feature his body went through all the pain to grow. He couldn't feel any extra ears, nor could he feel any extra eyes on him. There was an extra weight on his back that he could feel though.

“Oh nothing much, just a pair of wings,” she snorted. He blinked, twisting his body around and he gaped at the moderately sized wings extending out of his back.

“Oh yeah, Bluestar had a field day telling the clan about _that_. I think they were all hoping that you were just really sick or something else like that,” Yellowfang laughed, enjoying the stupefied look on his face. Fireheart only groaned in response, realizing that he was going to have to meet the clan with _wings_ on his back- he couldn't have grown some horns or scales instead? Those were much more common than _wings_! He had proven that he could be a warrior, but that didn't mean that the clan loved him!

“For now, just rest. Your body is still recovering from the Changes,” she murmured, giving him a short nuzzle before padding off into the back of the den. He sighed and laid his head down on his paws. He briefly wondered if he could fly with these things, before exhaustion caught up to him and he closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep.

At least he was getting some sleep this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Why go through the Changes at all? What purpose does it serve?”
> 
> Bluestar hummed, a thoughtful look on her face. "It's because the author hasn't come up for a reason yet! Honestly, Firepaw, you should know better by now. Author-chan is so bad at this that she doesn't even know how An Angel Lost in Time is going to go!"
> 
> "Alright, understandable, have a nice day," Firepaw said as he walked off into a sunset. 
> 
> Again, this is just an idea! I've got practically no explanations as to why the Changes happen, or who the two Starclan cats were. These things just happen on their own I guess. But hey, if any of you want to write something for this idea, then go for it. 
> 
> Can you tell that I like attaching wings onto Firestar by now?
> 
> Pretend that Graystripe has small ram's horns, and pretend that Tigerstar's horns look like the devils. I mean, he is evil right? Something like this is open to interpretation. The readers can figure out who gets what and what the extra parts look like themselves.
> 
> If you're disappointed by the lack of ChRiStMas, don't worry, I've got something planned for next week. :)
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	18. The Wild Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special artifact winds up in the paws of Starclan's prophesized savior. An ancient leader of an ancient clan takes it upon himself to guide this cat into properly using the powers gifted to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea was suggested by JustAnAverageGuy101 over on Fanfiction, and I hope I did it enough justice! The idea really intrigued me.
> 
> Well, it has been an exhausting week. For one, my keyboard is being derpy. I'll press down on a key once and it either doesn't give me the letter and I have to press down on the thing really hard for something to appear, or I press down on it once and I get a crap ton of the same letter when I only needed one. I only need one "A" ok? Not ten in a row! Sometimes the thing is normal, like me typing this right now. I'm guessing I've got hardware problems, causing typing this idea out was really annoying! 
> 
> Also, my mom has now tested positive for Covid. My sister.... is too cheap to shill out any money for a test but she's sick too and we're going to assume that she's got Covid as well. I weirdly enough managed to test negative when I got tested, so I'm safe for now. But that was Monday, so who knows if that negative has changed into a positive without my knowing. So I'm the only one in my family that's feeling okay. 
> 
> But my parents aren't really getting better, and I know they haven't reached the two week mark yet. That's when people with mild cases of Covid start to recover btw, even though it's really different for everyone. But my parents asked me some weird questions yesterday morning about knowing how to feed the cats and then they asked me to research good hospitals around the area. They're really considering admitting themselves into a hospital, and I'll admit, that sent me tearing up as I was eating breakfast. 
> 
> It's hard to be strong and not cry when you're scared that maybe your parents will just end up getting worse. It's been weighing in my head all day yesterday and made my interest in completing this almost non-existent. Dare I say, it could have been better if I wasn't thinking negative thoughts all day yesterday. 
> 
> Even worse, my mom's birthday is next week and she has to spend it being sick with Covid. She can't taste anything, which really sucks cause I usually celebrate it by baking her a cake every year. She wanted an Amaretto Pound Cake before she got sick. Now it's not worth making it anymore. ;^;
> 
> IF YOU'RE ASYMPTOMATIC, DO NOT THINK YOU ARE OKAY TO GO OUT PLACES OR GO TO WORK JUST CAUSE YOU HAVE NO SYMPTOMS. STAY HOME! IT'S BECAUSE OF A FEW IDIOTS THAT THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY THAT MY FAMILY IS ILL RIGHT NOW. JUST CAUSE YOU GOT OFF LUCKY DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T PASS ON THE VIRUS TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO WON'T BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO NOT FEEL ANY SYMPTOMS!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter I guess.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!
> 
> Update: My mom had to be driven to the hospital. I can only hope that she gets better.

Rusty decided early on in his life that his housefolk were strange. They kept putting him into one of those carriers and took him with them whenever they got a lead on some weird object or trinket. Sometimes they came back to the nest with something shiny, sometimes they came back with something dusty. It was mostly dusty and ruined objects that they found, but his housefolk poured over them excitedly as if they were the next best thing.

It was weirder when they tried examining some of the old, dusty tablets, trying to decipher the scrawl that was somehow carved into the stone.

It wasn't all bad; he got to see some amazing sights when his housefolk brought him along when they couldn't get someone to look after him- which was most of the time. Sometimes they brought him with them and left him alone in a small den that overlooked tall nests that reached into the sky, or a lake and a forest, or a huge sprawling plain with tall grass and strange looking trees that went on for what seemed like forever. Other times they brought him with them and he got to see more amazing sights up close.

Well, he had to stay in one of those weird monsters that doubled as a den when he was brought along, and he couldn't actually go outside, but each trip was ingrained into his memories.

He was back home now, relaxing in his nest after a day of hanging out with Smudge, when his housefolk came into the kitchen, one of them carrying a wooden box and the other talking and gesturing with enthusiasm. They were probably talking about object they found next- or they were planning another trip. They opened up the wooden box, chattering and gesturing over its contents, before leaving it there on the table and departing. His ears perked up when he heard their footsteps travel upstairs to their shared nest.

He curled up into a ball, not at all interested in whatever was in the box. Whatever it was, it was bound to be something dusty or boring.

Fate had other plans.

He shifted in his nest, flipping over to his other side so that his back was facing the table. To his dismay, nothing he did stopped the annoying thrumming in his head.

“ _Come here young one.”_ His body lurched at the sudden whisper in his head, and he flipped over again to stare at the wooden box on the table, its insides glowing with a soft light.

With his curiosity spurred, he tiredly padded away from his nest and hopped onto one of the chairs next the table, before jumping up next to the box. He peered inside it, blinking down at the object within. It was a string with multiple claws and teeth of a....something attached to it? He wasn't sure what animal the claws and teeth came from, but whatever it was, it had to have been something big.

“ _Put it on, cub. Fulfill your destiny,”_ the voice whispered in his ears. He turned his head to look around him, searching for the owner of the voice, before turning back to the string and hesitantly pulling it out of the box. He was small enough for the string to easily pull over his head and collar, the claws and teeth resting on the table.

He frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the teeth and claws weighing him down. It was just too big. He moved to take it off, when it glowed a bit more brightly, and the string shrunk before his eyes, until the teeth and claws rested against his chest.

“ _Come outside cub, and I will explain everything_.” Rusty decided that an explanation would be _great_ , and rushed to the cat flap, squeezing through it and getting blasted in the face with the fresh scents of the forest beyond the fence.

He looked around warily for the owner of the voice, and Rusty started to believe that he was in a weird dream, when a whirlwind of stars manifested before him. He yelped in fright, the kit scrambling backwards and tripping over his paws, when a bigger paw came down to steady him.

“ _Easy cub, I'm not going to hurt you_.” He looked up to see a large cat with a huge mane of golden fur around its head, trailing into the rest of its body, which was littered in stars.

“Wha-what are you?” he choked out.

“ _I'm a lion, cub,”_ the lion purred proudly, mane swaying gently in the breeze. “ _My name is Goldenstar._ ”

“What kind of a name is Goldenstar?”

“ _What kind of a name is Rusty?”_ the lion retorted back. The kit made a face for a few heartbeats; there was nothing wrong with his name! But Goldenstar just sounded odd.

“ _As I said, you have a great destiny to fulfill.”_ He turned to face the fence, looking outwards into the forest beyond it. “ _You have heard about the clans living in these woods haven't you?”_

“You mean the cats that Smudge keeps telling me about who will kill me and eat my bones?” Honestly, coming out of his mouth, it _did_ sound a bit ridiculous.

Goldenstar guffawed in laughter. “ _Nothing so melodramatic cub. The clans won't feast upon your bones.”_ His tone took on a more serious note. “ _But something foul stirs over their heads. The clans will be enveloped in a darkness that will tear them asunder if no one will stand up against it. You have been chosen to bare the Heart of the Wild to help the clans defeat this darkness once and for all.”_

Rusty's head throbbed at the load of information dumped onto him. He had been chosen to wear the string with the claws and teeth in order to help a bunch of cats he didn't even know to fight against some darkness or whatever? He wondered if it was too late to take the string off of him.

Seeing Rusty's confusion and fear, Goldenstar carefully curled around the kit, laying his head on the ground, trying to look as submissive as possible as to not scare the kit. “ _I know I'm asking for much of you cub. But these cats need help. I can't offer you much, but what I can offer you is a new purpose, away from your Twolegs who try their best to keep you confined. I can offer you your freedom, a chance to see the world beyond your Twoleg nest.”_

Rusty pondered his words. His dreams had been weird as of late. He always found himself in a forest, hunting a mouse, before he was stopped by the whispers emerging from the trees and what felt like multiple pairs of eyes burning into his pelt. It was like something was calling him.

He would admit, the forest _did_ intrigue him. His housefolk never let him explore any of the places they went to, always confined in one of the nests they stayed at. He could _see_ the world, but he could never be apart of it. Goldenstar was offering him a chance to really experience things beyond the comfort of his housefolk's den.

“Okay, I'll do it,” he said. Goldenstar uncurled himself, touching his nose with Rusty's.

“ _Good cub. I promise you that you've made the right decision in the end.”_ He nudged the string- the Heart of the Wild- with his nose, and Rusty's vision was engulfed in light.

He hardly noticed his body getting bigger, or his collar snapping off from his neck. He could only focus on the roars and purrs that filled his head, welcoming him as one of their own.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Rusty trotted through the forest happily. It wasn't a hard decision to leave his housefolk behind; they would probably just get a new cat to take along with them anyway. In his opinion, they were too busy to be caring for another cat anyway. He would miss Smudge, but the tom wouldn't understand why he felt the need to leave. It wasn't as if they were all that close or anything.

He had spent a moon getting used to wielding the Heart of the Wild and all the power and responsibility that came with it. Goldenstar was always there with him, whispering in his ear to guide and mentor him. Sometimes the ancient lion would tell him stories of his own life, back when he was the leader of Lionclan, and other times he would teach him about the ways of the clans and of Starclan. His favorite moments with Goldenstar was when the lion would manifest himself in the living world, curling around him as if Rusty was his cub.

His ears pricked at the sound of cats fighting in the distance, and he broke into a run until his paws crossed from grass and dirt into cold stone. He kept out of sight, watching cats claw and kick and spit at each other.

“ _This is it cub; this is what I've been training you for,_ ” Goldenstar whispered. _“You must help them_.”

He waved his tail nervously, not sure who he was supposed to help in this fight. Two screeches rose in the air, a dark reddish brown tom and a tom with a bushy red tail grappling with each other under what look like a suspiciously unstable rock formation. If he waited any longer, one of them would surely be buried and killed.

He placed a paw over the Heart of the Wild, over the longest claw that hung from the middle of the string, and it briefly glowed before he felt his body changing.

“Give up Redtail! The Sunningrocks belongs to Riverclan!” Oakheart snarled, pinning the Thunderclan deputy down.

“As if!” Redtail hissed, rapidly kicking his hind paws into Oakheart's belly. The Riverclan deputy quickly let go, and the two cats hissed at each other, circling around and looking for an opening to strike. Neither cat paid any attention to the sound of crumbling rocks above them, too engrossed in their battle over the hunting grounds.

Just as they were about to collide again, a roar sounded over the rocks, and every cat stopped in their tracks. Redtail and Oakheart gazed around wildly, looking for the source of the roar. They didn't need to wait long as a massive paw stepped out onto the rocks, its owner padding out into the open for everyone to see.

They froze in shock at the sight of the ginger lion. “Is that a real lion?” Oakheart uttered in shock.

Crumbling above them brought their attentions back, and the two deputies looked up to see rocks descending onto them.

But the lion quickly jumped into action, rushing towards the two and pushing them out of the way of the rockfall.

The two clans starred in shock at a lion appearing and saving one of their own. The lion stumbled, a trail of blood flowing down its head, and it collapsed in a heap in front of the two shell-shocked deputies.

“It saved us?” Redtail whispered in confusion. His confusion reached new heights when something on the lion's chest glowed brightly, before dying down, revealing a six-moon old kit where the lion once stood.

“A kit?!” Oakheart yowled. Cats behind them clamored in shock and confusion. Redtail shuffled up to the kit warily, sniffing it, his eyes narrowed at the blood dripping down its head.

First a lion appears, saves him and Oakheart from dying by rocks, and then seemingly transformed into a kit. A kit that looked ready to become an apprentice, if he was apart of a clan that is. He wanted answers, but he wouldn't get them if the kit bled to death here.

“Thunderclan! Retreat back to camp!” he ordered to his clanmates. They didn't move from where they stood, still shocked over the past few events. “I said _now!_ ” They all blinked at his command, before scrambling into action.

Tigerclaw gave him a sour look as he passed by, but gave the kit an interested look. Redtail ignored the tabby, and picked up the kit by the scruff, intent in bringing the kit back to camp with him.

“What do you think you're doing?” Oakheart growled.

“What do you think? I'm bringing this kit back to Thunderclan for treatment,” Redtail said bluntly.

“But Riverclan is closer than Thunderclan's camp. Let me take him,” Oakheart pressed.

Redtail stared at the deputy for a moment, and then at the unconscious kit. “I'm not going to fight you over who gets to take the kit to who's camp. He needs help.”

Oakheart growled, having an internal debate with himself. But before he could start up an argument, Redtail had already hauled the kit into Thunderclan territory. He was intent on getting answers, but he first needed to get the ginger kit to Spottedleaf.

.

* * *

.

Bluestar waited patiently for her medicine cat to come out of her trance. Spottedleaf shook her head a few times. “That was strange,” the tortoiseshell commented. “I believe I received a message from Starclan,” she said, eyes distant.

“Well? What was it?”

“The wild fire alone will save our clan.”

* * *

“The wild fire? Isn't all fire wild?” Crookedstar asked, confused. Mudfur only shrugged at him, just as confused as his leader.

* * *

“But fire is feared by all the clans! How can it save us?” Tallstar fretted.

Barkface shook his head. “I don't know, but-”

* * *

“-this is the message that Starclan has chosen to share with me,” Yellowfang meowed.

Brokenstar scowled, unsure how fire was going to help him take over the forest. He growled. “Well then... if Starclan has spoken then it must be so.”

* * *

“ _Fire will save our clan_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JustAnAverageGuy101 suggested the idea of what if Firestar had the ability to shift into a lion and become the desire of all four clans, and I was like "OMGGG YESSSSS" cause I'm into that kind of stuff. 
> 
> Who knows, you might end up seeing something like the Sunningrocks thing in An Angel Lost in Time. Fires appearing to save Oak and Red was something I wanted in there, and I figured the lion idea would give me some good practice first. Not sure if I did a great job with that particular idea though. 
> 
> h ook, my eybordd isn't working agaain! ovely. AAAlllmost seems like the midddle row of the keyboard besides G and H don't want to work properly. 
> 
> Fire's Twolegs are archeologists in this btw. They bring him along to their expeditions but have him locked up in their hotel room or RV cause they don't want him escaping into the wild... which is exactly what he did anyway- in their own home no less! Should have locked up that cat flap if they didn't want him to escape lol. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be updated when I feel like it.
> 
> Please leave a comment below! It would really make my day if you do!
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Sunlight on Scales](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760662) by [Hungry_AloeLeaf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hungry_AloeLeaf/pseuds/Hungry_AloeLeaf)




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